Free Shipping
& Easy Returns
The 12 Days of Christmas — As Told by Us!
Everyone knows the famous "12 Days of Christmas". Even if it's not their absolute favorite Christmas carol, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who didn't respond "a partridge in a pear tree" after you asked what their true love gave to them, even if it wasn't the holiday season!
With less than a week to Christmas, you might be wondering, "what is The 12 Days of Christmas about, anyway?"
Although you may not have eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, or six geese a-laying on your Christmas list, the story of a lover gifting the world to someone they care dearly about is enough to put anyone in the Christmas spirit!
This week, we're dishing on this well-known festive song and sharing 12 canvas prints to gift your true love.
When are the 12 days of Christmas?
The 12 days of Christmas traditionally refers to the 12 days AFTER Christmas Day, leading up to the arrival of the wise men in the New Year. In years past, that was when the holiday festivities really began. The month before Christmas, known as advent, is celebrated before then and is marked by a time of joyful anticipation of the infant Christ's birth.
What are the lyrics to the 12 Days of Christmas?
This popular Christmastide carol has gone through many changes over the years, but English composer Frederic Austin penned the version most of us recognize and love in 1909.
The song features twelve verses with a repeating pattern which goes as follows:
On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me
A partridge in a pear tree.
The song progresses through the twelve days one by one, each time beginning with a new day and adding a gift before repeating all the previous lines.
The following eleven days tell of two turtle doves, three French hens, four calling birds, five gold rings, six geese a-laying, seven swans a-swimming, eight maids a-milking, nine ladies dancing, ten lords a-leaping, eleven pipers piping, ... and twelve drummers drumming.
What are the lyrics about?
Over the years, some have suggested that the lyrics of this festive song were a way for early Christians to share important aspects of their faith without risking persecution. While it seems like a plausible theory, it's been debunked several times over.
Instead, the song seems to have come about as an old-timey game, in which children would take turns adding each gift and repeating the preceding lyrics. This memory game would carry on until one child would make a mistake or forfeit, thus awarding the winner with a kiss or candy, which sounds like a Christmas tradition due for a comeback to us!
How much would the 12 Days of Christmas gifts cost?
Funny enough, the PNC Bank has done the breakdown on the price tag associated with this famous melody for 38 years.
Each year, their team of specialists tallies up the price of each item, accounting for inflation and market value to arrive at what they call the "Total Christmas Price Index" or CPI. A quick look at their dedicated page reveals a steady uphill march for the total of all gifts, including their repeats, showing just what lengths the singer's Romeo or Juliette will go to just to prove their love.
If your lover isn't too keen on partridges, pear trees, or leaping lords, try getting them one of the twelve lovely prints we featured today. These high-quality prints are perfect seasonal decor pieces and may well become their new favorite holiday tradition.
