By GUY A. ZONA in 7he Florida Catholic.
Edited by tcc print office.
Can you imagine not being permitted to freely say
"Merry Christmas?”
Can you imagine having to conceal your beliefs by
describing them in seemingly unrelated words, like singing an apparently happy,
almost nonsensical song when it is really about your beliefs?
Those conditions did occur
in England as well as other places between 1558 and 1829.
The Christmas carol The
Twelve Days of Christmas, in fact, is a result of people's needing to
conceal their beliefs in this way, according to - The Handbook of Catholic
Sacramentals - by Ann Ball
(Our Sunday Visitor,
Huntington, Ind.).
Written in England as a catechism song for young
Catholics, The Twelve Days of Christmas contains hidden meanings
intended to help children remember lessons of faith. Instead of referring to an
earthly suitor, the "true love" mentioned in the song really
refers to God. The "me" who receives the presents is symbolic
of every baptized person.
The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus Christ. In
the song, Christ is symbolically presented as a mother partridge that feigns
injury to decoy predators from helpless nestlings.
The meaning of the other symbols are:
Two turtle doves - The Old and New Testaments
Three French hens - Faith, hope, and charity
Four colly birds. - The four Gospels
Five golden rings...- The first five books of the Old Testament, which
outline humanity's fall from grace.
Six geese a-laying - The six days of creation
Seven swans a-swimming - Seven gifts of the Holy Ghost
Eight maids a-milking
The
eight Beatitudes
Nine ladies dancing - Nine
Choirs of Angels
Ten lords a-leaping The Ten Commandments
Eleven pipers piping - The eleven faithful disciples
Twelve drummers drumming - The twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.
truecarpentry.org
The Eight Beatitudes are:
1) Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
2) Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land.
3) Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.
4) Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall have their fill.
5) Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
6) Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.
7) Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.
8) Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
(Matt. 5, 3-10)
To acquire catechism, one can retrieve copy from the www.truecatholic.org website.
We also advise on the Tan books publisher to retrieve Catholic materials.