A joyous Christmas season to you! Did you know that “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” that popular song of this worship season, is about the days after Dec. 25^th, not before? Each day in the song names one aspect of Christian faith and life for people unable to read or without any books beyond the Bible.

Day 1

On the first day, my true love—God—gave to me a partridge in a pear tree: Jesus Christ, who showed God’s love ultimately on the cross, which was originally called a “tree.”

Day 2

Today is the second day of the Christmas season. In “The Twelve Days of Christmas” song, the two turtle doves can be seen as the Bible’s Old and New Testaments. They are like a library of different book genres that show us how much God loves us, calls for justice and compassion, and offers us both accountability and forgiveness. Altogether, these two testaments (“covenants” between God and us) give many examples of God’s grace.

Day 3

This is the third day of the twelve days of Christmas. It names three French hens as a symbol for faith, hope, and love. In 1 Corinthians 13, St. Paul writes, “And now faith, hope, and love remain, these three, and the greatest of these is love.” His word for love goes deeper than feelings. It means caring-in-action. We are blessed when we share it and when we receive it.

Day 4

In the teaching song, “The 12 Days of Christmas,” in the 4^th day of Christmas, the phrase “4 calling birds”reminds Christians of the four Gospels in the Bible: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Each Book describes Jesus from a different angle: as the ultimate Teacher of God’s Law (Matthew), the Commander of all God’s spiritual armies (Mark), the Great Healer (Luke), and the Word of God from the beginning of creation (John). When you look through the Gospel stories, which one helps you the most at this point in your life?

Day 5

If you’re following the song, “The 12 days of Christmas” this Christmas season, you know today is about “five golden rings.” Rings are the symbol of an intimate vow of faithfulness between two parties, and in this case between God and all people. So rings are a perfect symbol for the first five Books of the Bible, God’s Law or Teaching as given through Moses. In the Jewish Scriptures it’s called the Torah. As aish.com describes it, “Moses was the person who would give shape, purpose and direction by bringing the instructions of the Creator to the world.”

Day 6

Today marks the 6^th day of the 12 days of Christmas: “6 geese a-laying.” From a long time back, the wild goose has been a symbol of the dynamic, unpredictable nature of the Holy Spirit. So the 6 geese are a way of saying God gave birth to 6 “days,” or eras, of creation. These include 1) the distinction between day and night; 2) separating the waters in the sky (rain) from the waters on Earth; 3) the dry land and all kinds of vegetation; 4) the sun, moon, and stars; 5) all living creatures; and 6) humans, made in God’s image and likeness. So today we can celebrate every bit of God’s creation!

Day 7

On this 7^th day of the Christmas season, we are thankful for the “7 swans a-swimming:” what the Bible calls the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: the ability to identify what God’s doing in the world, give practical help and support, teach, preach, give, lead people, and show mercy. The Spirit can show up in all kinds of ways. Whenever people inspire and encourage others, guide and empower them, that’s God at work through their human effort and graciousness.

Day 8 

Welcome to Day 8 of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” The eight maids a-milking are the eight “Blessed are…” statements, called The Beatitudes. These sayings from Jesus seem to turn the world’s values upside down. For example, you’re blessed if you’re pure in heart, for you will see God—if you’re persecuted for the sake of living in a way that faces God, for yours is the God’s Reign in heaven—if people revile you on account of Jesus, for you’re being treated like the prophets, and your reward will be great in heaven. What a surprise! Check it out and see what you think: they’re in Matthew chapter 5, verses 3 to 12.

Day 9

Today is Day 9 of that “Twelve Days of Christmas” song, the “9 ladies dancing.” They remind us of the 9 “fruits of the Spirit:” positive aspects of life when God interweaves with our daily existence. They are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. – OK, so none of us shows all of that! But there are hints of these qualities when we let God work with us in our daily lives. (Thanks to dreamstime.com for this fun graphic.)

Day 10

So what are the “10 lords a-leaping” in the song about the 12 days of Christmas? They stand for the Ten Commandments  (in Exodus 20:1-17) which God gave Moses to help us keep from unraveling our community. The first bunch deal with our personal relationship with God, and the last half give essential personal boundaries to sustain our human relationships. Thesehave amazing impact because of how closely God’s will is connected to Who God is, not just with us as a people here and now, but with all humanity in the midst of God’s creation.

Day 11

In “The Twelve Days of Christmas” teaching song, “eleven pipers piping” stands for the 11 faithful disciples. – But were there really  12 in the first place? If you add up the names, it comes to more. (Plus the 3 key “other women,” who were not called disciples at the time: Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Susanna) In the Bible, the number 12 stands for fullness, wholeness and sometimes perfection. Like the 12 tribes of Israel, the 12 baskets of food left over from feeding the 5,000, and the 12 gates to the New Jerusalem in Revelation. Maybe “twelve disciples” means whatever the number of disciples, we are meant to represent the fullness of God’s love to all.

Day 12

In the teaching song, “The 12 Days of Christmas,” the 12 drummers drumming stand for the twelve points of belief in the Apostles’ Creed. That creed was developed around 390 CE, which various modern branches of the Western Church still use to teach their basic beliefs. These include reliance on God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Not all Jesus followers have to recite this creed, but it is one of the earliest and simplest summaries and part of our common history.

Your partner in singing,

Betsy Schwarzentraub