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It may be hard to believe, but the song “Twelve Days of Christmas” was originally a party game.  

The season around Christmas has always involved fascinating concepts and history. The “Twelve Days of Christmas” has an interesting history behind its creation and journey into the carol many know and love today.  

The Christmas season is largely misconceived, with December 25 marking the beginning of the twelve-day season of Christmas and ending on January 6, or Epiphany. Epiphany marks the end of the season but celebrates how the three wise men were led by a star to visit Jesus after he was born.  

Kathryn Duffy, Lecturer of Music and Professor Emerita at Grand View University, has training in the liturgical calendar and has specific insights into the journey of the “Twelve Days of Christmas” carol.  

“The carol came in the late eighteenth century, but the twelve days of Christmas were established in the late sixth century. Part of the reason for the twelve days is that it expands the celebration period from Christmas Day to Epiphany,” Duffy said. “They established that period so that both traditions could be reconciled in the calendar.” 

Originally, the carol had nothing to do with the church or the season of celebration. It was a game that people would play at parties instead of the singsong carol we know today.  

“It really has nothing to do with the celebration other than marking the days. It’s just a coincidence that it has twelve days. It’s a party song, what’s called a cumulative game, where one person starts, and the next person would sing the next verse and so on,” Duffy said.  

It was not until around the 1980s that the song began to gain popularity in the educational form. Teachers would sing the song for their students and then relate it back to major biblical points of education.  

The verses began to gain religious prominence by teachers finding and making the references to biblical characters and ideologies.  

The religious organization Dynamic Catholic breaks down the song by each verse, beginning with the first verse. A few examples include the ‘partridge in a pear tree,’ the partridge being Christ, and the pear tree being the cross that he was crucified on. The song next symbolizes the four gospels of the Bible, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, with ‘four calling birds.’  

‘Six geese a laying’ follows the fifth verse as it is a reference to the six days of the creation of the world. ‘Seven swans a swimming’ refers to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. 

 ‘Eleven pipers piping’ symbolizes the eleven faithful Apostles: Peter, Andrew, James the Elder, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the Younger, Simon and Jude. The carol concludes with ‘twelve drummers drumming,’ representing the twelve points of the Apostle’s Creed.  

“We can use these things as teaching pieces because society sort of says ‘oh all the days leading up to Christmas are celebrated.’ Think of all the Christmas parties that happen during Advent,” said Duffy. 

“One way to counter that was to do something special with the twelve days of Christmas and looking at the song, and we could say there are two turtle doves, there are two Testaments, Old and New,” Duffy said. “You can find something in all the numbers to use at teaching points but that’s not the origin of it.” 

Music tends to bring people together, especially in celebration. Not only does it bring people together, but it also helps them learn. It is the first interaction most people have with religion as children, according to Dr. Trisha Wheelock, Director of Faith Life and Director of the Moses Project at GVU.  

“For a lot of people, when they learn about their theology and about God, they do so by singing it. So, music is an important part of learning about your faith because that’s how we learn what we believe about God,” Wheelock said.  

Most people’s earliest memories with religion and faith are songs. Music has a way of putting one right back into the place where they first heard the melody. That is why Campus and Student Ministries are so careful about the songs they choose to sing. They want people to be transcended into a pure memory that makes them whole.  

GVU’s campus is full of diversity from all different types of communities, religions, and ways of life. GVU ministry teams make services and worship songs open to all while still having parts that are rooted in their Lutheran beliefs. Yet, one thing about the Christmas season that is common across all Protestant Christian denominations are carols. 

“There’s something at Christmas that makes people want to sing those old songs that you grew up singing as a kid. There’s something about when you come to that service, there’s something comforting about familiar songs,” Wheelock said-.  

From the moment people begin to learn, they are introduced to music. It is how they can recall moments in a catchy way. It is a memory tool, a gate into minds and our souls. That is why there are nursery rhymes. It is why people implement carols and jingles, because it helps them remember.