On the First Day of Christmas …

My true love gave to me this bird that he said was a partridge, in a miniature potted pear tree. “Ho, ho, ho,” I said to him, “very cute.”

When on Boxing Day he showed up with some caged rats-with-wings (yep, turtle-doves cover doves and pigeons too), and another partridge in a pear tree, I thought he was taking the joke a bit far. “I couldn’t find real turtle-doves,” he explained apologetically.

My apartment was becoming crowded and rather noisy, and as much as I was looking forward to day five, I was a bit worried about those four calling birds, not to mention the French hens (although I suppose we could eat those in the near future) …

Illustration of the Twelve Days of Christmas, by Ilonka Karasz. Image from Black Eiffel.No, seriously, has anyone ever thought about the origins of this dusty old Christmas carol? I mean, if your true love brought you all those things, what would you be thinking? Uh huh, that he needed to be committed. (And I’m not talking about his devotion to you.)

The Twelve Days of Christmas are the festive days of Christmas beginning on the 25th of December, aka Christmastide, during which period you can eat as much as you like. Twelfth Night is on 5th January, culminating with another feast on the following day (as if you hadn’t eaten enough already) to celebrate Epiphany. (Hmm, this explains the origin of all those New Year’s resolutions.)

… if your true love brought you all those things, what would you be thinking?

As for the song … it was first published in English in 1780, although it may be French in origin, and much older. Wikipedia informs me that it possibly began as a Twelfth Night ‘memories-and-forfeits’ game, in which players repeated verses after a leader, and if anyone made a mistake they had to pay a penalty, such as offering up a kiss or sweet. You can just imagine the mayhem that would ensue if a particularly attractive person was playing.

Well, that’s a relief. I’m so glad to know that this song is not a record of the extravagance and folly of some lovelorn suitor of French nationality.

Merry Christmas, enjoy your day however you celebrate it and don’t eat too much. Remember you need to save yourself for January 6.