The song may seem all about gifts. But there is more to the name of the 12 Days of Christmas than just lots of presents. The 12 Days of Christmas start on Christmas Day and they last until the night of January 5th. The 5th is also known as the Twelfth Night.
While it isn’t necessarily an American tradition, all across Europe the 12 Days are celebrated and have been since the middle ages.
The 12 Days themselves traditionally celebrate a feast day for a saint and have different celebrations attached to them.
For example (not a complete list):
Christmas Day is actually the first day of Christmas and is dedicated to celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.
Boxing Day, or St. Stephens Day is the day after Christmas. St. Stephen was the first Christian man to die for his faith. The second day of Christmas is also famous in the Christmas Carol “Good King Wenceslas.” As the song goes, Good King Wenceslas looked out, on the feast of Stephen.
December 27 is St. John the Apostle’s Day. St. John was one of Jesus’ friends and Disciples.
December 28. This day of celebration is known as the Feast of the Holy Innocents. This day is dedicated to the remembrance of the innocent lives lost to King Herod, when the king was trying to find and kill Baby Jesus. Many other innocent baby boys were killed in the process, and this day of Christmas honors this loss.
New Year’s Day is also the eighth day of Christmas. It is a day dedicated to celebrating Mary, the mother of Jesus.
January 3: The Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. This day celebrates when Jesus was officially “named” in the Jewish Temple. While different churches will celebrate this occasion on different days—it is traditionally known as the 10th day of Christmas.
January 6: Epiphany. In Western Christianity, the feast commemorates principally (but not solely) the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child. It is sometimes called Three Kings’ Day, and in some traditions celebrated as Little Christmas. On this day Christians recognize the manifestation of Christ as both fully human and fully divine.
What does The Twelve Days of Christmas mean? There is a theory that all of the “gifts” in the song have ties to Christianity. This makes sense, given the 12 Days of Christmas themselves are all tied to the Christian faith.
1. The partridge in a pear tree stands for Jesus Christ
2. The two turtledoves stand for the Old and New Testaments
3. Three French hens stand for faith, hope, and charity.
4. The four calling birds are the four gospels
5. The five gold rings represent the first five books of the Old Testament (the Law).
6. The six geese a-laying stand for the six days of creation
7. Seven swans a-swimming signifies the seven-fold gifts of the Spirit, or the Seven Sacraments.
8. The eight maids a-milking represent the beatitudes.
9. The Nine ladies dancing are the nine fruits of the Spirit (see the fifth chapter of Galatians).
10. Ten lords a-leaping are the Ten Commandments.
11. Eleven pipers piping stand for the eleven faithful disciples.
12. Twelve drummers drumming symbolize the twelve points of belief in the Apostles Creed.
Stella's Place 
Thanks for the informations Stella!
For many Christians, as you said, especially in Europe, Advent ended with Christmas. The Christmas season did not actually begin until December 25, and it will last until Epiphany. Some people, especially some of the nuns I’ve followed over the years, will keep the celebration of Christmas until February 2, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.
In recent years, the Catholic Church has really pushed this in articles, sermons, etc. I don’t know why, but I never heard this when I converted, nor for many years. Many Catholics will not put their tree up until close to Christmas Eve, and they won’t listen to Christmas music, only Advent tunes.
I do celebrate the Octave of Christmas, and I leave out my nativity set until Epiphany, but I’ll probably begin putting everything else away today. Old habits die hard, I guess. As a young mother, ignorant of these facts about Christmas, I had the kids decorate our tree the First Sunday of Advent, and that became a time I mentally locked into.
Personally, I enjoy Advent, observe it, and equally treasure the beauty and joy of all the songs, lights, decorations, and cheer. I cannot seem to get into the 12 days as I should.
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Thanks for the informations Stella!
For many Christians, as you said, especially in Europe, Advent ended with Christmas. The Christmas season did not actually begin until December 25, and it will last until Epiphany. Some people, especially some of the nuns I’ve followed over the years, will keep the celebration of Christmas until February 2, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.
In recent years, the Catholic Church has really pushed this in articles, sermons, etc. I don’t know why, but I never heard this when I converted, nor for many years. Many Catholics will not put their tree up until close to Christmas Eve, and they won’t listen to Christmas music, only Advent tunes.
I do celebrate the Octave of Christmas, and I leave out my nativity set until Epiphany, but I’ll probably begin putting everything else away today. Old habits die hard, I guess. As a young mother, ignorant of these facts about Christmas, I had the kids decorate our tree the First Sunday of Advent, and that became a time I mentally locked into.
Personally, I enjoy Advent, observe it, and equally treasure the beauty and joy of all the songs, lights, decorations, and cheer. I cannot seem to get into the 12 days as I should.
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Thanks, Stella. I didn’t know any of this. If you posted it last year, I either missed it or forgot it. 🙄 Either is possible. But, good things to know.
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Just found this on Twitter. Since I can no longer copy a tweet, I copied the comment, including the person who posted it.
@frmattfish
And to celebrate the second day of the Octave of Christmas, the Church remembers… a man being viciously stoned?? So much for a joyful Christmas, it seems! But the wisdom of the Church knows better. To understand the meaning of Christmas, it is most fitting to remember a deacon being stoned to death, a virgin giving up what the world believes most makes merry, and innocent children slaughtered by a tyrant. If that doesn’t seem to strike the right note, we need to pay attention. C.S. Lewis once remarked: “Enemy-occupied territory—that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful King has landed—you might say landed in disguise as one of us—and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.” Martyrs, virgins, holy innocents: these are the soldiers that follow the King, his retinue. They are the first ones in, holding the beachhead. We see it: Christmas is easily sentimentalized. But these feasts remind us why Christ came and of the cost of his victory. Christ gladly pays the price; he sacrifices his life to overcome evil. He must, for the world cannot abide what he represents and so will reject him. But these days remain supremely joyful because Christ has revealed how love overcomes all adversaries. The early Church did not mourn her martyrs; she joyfully celebrated them. She did not pity her virgins; she admired them. She did not forget her holy innocents (some tragedies are better left unmentioned, they say); she announced them the first victors to share in the King’s glory. To say this child was born to bring peace is to say he came for battle: not the kind we are used to, to be sure, but a conflict all the same. And we are in the same fight, won not with worldly weapons but with the witness of truth and the sacrifice of love.
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