Revealed! 12 things you didn't know about Christmas

There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me - "The Twelve  Days of Christmas".

What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?

This week, I found out.

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics.

It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

. "My true love" means God. God sends gifts to us daily.

•  The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.

•  Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.

•  Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.

•  The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.

•  The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old   Testament.

•  The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

•  Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.

• The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

• Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.

• The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments.

• The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
• The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

This is a history lesson for today. This knowledge was shared with me and I found it interesting and enlightening.


Now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol.


Have a Meaningful Yuletide Season! 🎄🙏🏼

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you in shortest advance……🌹

Fitted With Allowance

"Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony."

Col 3:12-14

There are two parameters by which we judge a good tailor

1. The ability to sew to size

2. The ability to make allowance in our clothes so that any eventualities can be managed.

Sewing to size

Let's paint a picture in our minds! We are tailors but we don't sew clothes, we sew virtues of tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and Love. Imagine you sew for other people and you always sew your size no matter how big or small they are, I bet your clothes aren't going to fit a lot of people! After a while, people don't just come to you to receive their fabric anymore. That's what happens when we are always consumed with ourselves, anytime we relate to people. I Understand that there might be unexpected hitches in us relating with people even when we fit them with our fabrics and that brings us to the second parameter for a great tailor.

Making Allowances

Sometimes we get the measurement right for others but some hitches develop along the way that we did not expect before. We never know people completely no matter how long we might have been with them, that is why it is never a wise decision to box people because naturally we are dynamic in nature and must be given room to grow. Unexpected behavior or Negative turn of events can come on us suddenly from and through those that we have so diligently sewn fitted fabrics for. That's where making for allowances come in. It might take extra work to loosen the fittings to create new ones but it brings great joy to know that others won't outgrow our virtues and that the fabrics won't be torn easily because there is an allowance for mistakes.

Always remember that people come in various sizes and shapes so sew virtues to fit them and also make allowances.