12 Days of Christmas
One Christmas Carol we left of from our post Caroling Through The Names was the classic jingle The Twelve Days of Christmas composed by Andrew Carter and Frederic Austin.
This song has been covered and parodied by various musicians and television programs including Bing Crosby, Andy Williams, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, John Denver with The Muppets, Twisted Sister, Pentatonix and even VeggieTales.
The twelve days isn’t an advent calendar counting down ‘til Christmas eve. This song celebrates the twelve days, starting on Christmas until the Epiphany or Three Kings’ Day. Marking the span between the birth of Christ and the arrival of the Magi to Bethlehem.
Each day represents a celebration of a Martyr or Saint connected with Jesus’ birth. Day two, Boxing Day, is considered to be the Feast of Saint Stephen, a deacon who gave present boxes to the les fortunate. Where as other big holidays like New Year’s Eve celebrates the feast of Saint Sylvester and New Year’s Day is the feast day of the Virgin Mary.
The twelve days is often viewed as a biblical metaphor symbolizing God’s true love and Jesus Christ (The partridge). The symbolic story behind the rest of the days goes as follows…
Second Day : The Old and New Testaments
Third Day: The tree gifts of faith, hope and love
Fourth Day: The four gospels
Fifth Day: The first five books of the Old Testament
Sixth Day: The six days of creation
Seventh Day: The seven gifts of the holy spirit
Eighth Day: The eight beatitudes
Ninth Day: The nine fruits of the Holy Spirit
Tenth Day: The ten commandments
Eleventh Day: The eleven faithful disciples
Twelfth Day: The points of the apostles creed
In the tradition of Namemas (Christmas inspired celebration of names started by the name community via Instagram) we decided to write our own version of the twelve days. Each name we included corresponds with the original lyrics.
On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Perry
On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Jonah
On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Henrietta
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Mavis
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Eurddolen
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Anser
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Leda
On the eighth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Galatia
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Martha
On the tenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Alula
On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Peverell
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Evans
For more holiday themed names check out our pages on Facebook and Instagram @anamingstory