There are in fact twelve days of Christmas. In the Western Church calendar, the twelve days of Christmas start on Dec. 25th and end on January 5th. A break down of the days are as follows:
Dec. 25 – Christmas
Dec. 26 – The Feast of Stephen
Dec. 27 – John the Baptist’s martyrdom
Dec. 28 – Feast of the Holy Innocents
Jan. 1 – Feast of the Name and Circumcision of Jesus
Jan. 5 – Day of the Magi
This means that the famous song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is connected to the Church calendar, and some people have certainly made some deeper connections to the meaning of the gifts from the “True Love” of the song by finding Biblical parallels. Was this song intentionally written as code to teach the Christian faith? And even if it wasn’t, can these Biblical connections add a new sense of wonder to the song and help remind us that we have way more to celebrate and remember in the Church calendar for the Christmas Season? I think so. Listen and find out more!
Show Links:
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church of Irvine
Snopes and the “The Twelve Days of Christmas”
12 Days of Christmas Show Notes
Merry Christmas! All twelve days of it!
Order my book, Contradict – They Can’t All Be True: Here.
Andy Wrasman 