Oh the song is so tiring and it makes my head hurt trying to remember all the verses.  I can always remember the “5 golden rings” but everything else seems to be a blur even though I have heard the song for 40 years.  You would think by now that I would know it by now!!

Hearing all kinds of reasons why the song was created and conducted over the hundreds of years in existence, I set out to find what exactly what it means.  What I found was very interesting.  Some scholars say the day one through 12 items are tied to the Bible.  Others don’t agree.  I couldn’t find evidence to really support and outweigh the other so I am not going there……however, snopes.com says it is false.

I have found that the 12 days of Christmas is from Dec. 26-Jan. 6th.  It is a time of small gift giving that represent the Magi and the treasures given to Jesus upon their arrival.  Tradition states that the Magi arrived 12 days after His birth.  The 12 days leads up to the Epiphany season that ends on Ash Wednesday.

If you would like to do something special with your family this year to observe the 12 days of Christmas, I have found two really unique websites that have some creative ideas to enjoy the 12 days leading up to the Epiphany.  DLTK website has coloring pages that everyone can color and have fun. Then there is Gramma’s 12 Days of Christmas website….. really neat gift ideas that can be enjoyed by all…. each day a small gift is given that is related to the 12 Days of Christmas song.

If you would like to tie the song and the gift giving to Christianity, Folk Music 101 has the “secret meanings” listed for you.  It will be a helpful tool if you would like to make a devotional out of the meanings.

Tomorrow I am going to talk about the Epiphany season and a yummy activity you can do with your family!!

God Bless…..

Related posts:

1. Merry Christmas
2. Christmas Hope
3. Going Homemade for Christmas