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This Christmas carol has always baffled me. What in the world does leaping Lords, French hens, swimming swans, especially the partridge that won't come out of pear trees have to do with Christmas???
Today I found out from 1558 to 1829 Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to pratice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catchism song for young catholics. It had two levels of meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for religious reality, which children would remember,,
The partridge in a pear tree-- was Jesus Christ 2 turtle doves--were the old and new testaments 3 french hens-- stood for Faith, Hope, and Love 4 calling birds--were the 4 gospels of, Matthew.Mark, Luke, and John 5 golden rings-- recalled Torah or Laws(the 1st-5 books of the old testament) 6 geese a-laying--stood for 6 days of Creation 7 swans a-swimming--represented the seven-fold gifts of the Holy Spirit:Prophesy,Serving,Teaching,Exhortation,Contributions, Leadership,and Mercy 8 maids a-milking-- were the 8 Beatitudes 9 ladies dancing--were the 9 friuts of the Holy Spirit,Love,Peace,Joy,Patients,Kindness,Goodness,Faithfullness,Gentleness, and Self Control 10 Lord a-leaping --were the 10 Commandments 11 pipers piping -- stood for the 11 Faithful Disciples 12 drummers drumming-- symbolized the 12 points of belief in The Apostles' Creed
I found this to be interesting and enlightening for me and wanted to share this with you....
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Thanks angelblossom. I've been in church (not Catholic) all of my life and this is the first time I'd ever heard this. My dad's a Baptist preacher and always loves such religeous trivia. I'll share it with him.
Robert
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From: West Tennessee | Registered: Oct 2005
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