Thoughts On The 12 Days Of Christmas

Tweet

I never understood the need to repeat the list of gifts given in the 12 Days song unless the giver is actually giving those gifts out every day from their first mention. The first day gift of a partridge in a pear tree seems excessive in itself as a pear tree would be quite difficult to keep unless you had a very large garden or orchard. Also, why would the partridge stay in the tree unless it was nailed to it /tethered to it or dead? In being the gift given every day, it amounts to twelve partridges in twelve pear trees by Twelfth Night. It gets worse Partridges – 12 Pear Trees – 12 Turtle Doves -22 French Hens – 30 Calling birds – 36 Gold Rings – 35 (probably the easiest of the excessive gift giving to accommodate) Geese A Laying - 42 – plus their eggs – another 42 Goslings at least to tend to. Swans a swimming – 42 plus enough water to contain them Maids A milking – 40, plus 40 cows or goats to milk, as well as milking stools, buckets, bottles and in effect a small dairy farm Ladies dancing – 36 Lords a Leaping – 30 (you don't see those crop up often on ebay) Pipers Piping – 22 – plus 22 sets of pipes And finally 12 drummers drumming plus drums It adds up to at least 451 gifts, (allowing for all the accessories and extra creatures and instruments, etc) which makes the giver a deranged stalker rather than anyone's true love. Arthur Chappell