The Twelve Days of Christmas

by Anonymous

The first day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
A partridge in a pear tree.

The second day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Two turtle doves, and
A partridge in a pear tree.

The third day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves, and
A partridge in a pear tree.

The fourth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Four colly birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves, and
A partridge in a pear tree.

The fifth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Five gold rings,
Four colly birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves, and
A partridge in a pear tree.

The sixth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Six geese a-laying,
Five gold rings,
Four colly birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves, and
A partridge in a pear tree.

The seventh day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five gold rings,
Four colly birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves, and
A partridge in a pear tree.

The eighth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five gold rings,
Four colly birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves, and
A partridge in a pear tree.

The ninth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Nine drummers drumming,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five gold rings,
Four colly birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves, and
A partridge in a pear tree.

The tenth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Ten pipers piping,
Nine drummers drumming,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five gold rings,
Four colly birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves, and
A partridge in a pear tree.

The eleventh day of Christmas
My true love sent to me
Eleven ladies dancing,
Ten pipers piping,
Nine drummers drumming,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five gold rings,
Four colly birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves, and
A partridge in a pear tree.

The twelfth day of Christmas
My true love sent to me
Twelve fiddlers fiddling,
Eleven ladies dancing,
Ten pipers piping,
Nine drummers drumming,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five gold rings,
Four colly birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves, and
A partridge in a pear tree.

Summary of The Twelve Days of Christmas

Popularity of “The Twelve Days of Christmas”: “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is a Christian Carol famous on account of its themes of Christmas celebration and love. It first appeared in 1780 children’s book called Mirth Without Mischief. The poem speaks about the gifts the speaker receives from his beloved. While it is nicknamed as the most annoying Christmas carol, it is still sung during the Holiday Season. Since the 1780s there have been many variations. Currently, Frederic Austin’s tune is widely sung. It was composed and arranged in 1909.
“The Twelve Days of Christmas”, As a Representation of Religious Beliefs: This poem is about the twelve days of Christmas celebration and receiving presents. Unlike the tradition of receiving presents on Christmas Eve, the song lists the presents he/she received every day for 12 days until Christmas. However, each gift in the carol has a code word for a religious reality such partridge in a tree symbolizes God’s love, turtle and doves are New and Old testaments and three French hens represent three gifts: love, hope, and trust. Four calling birds are the four gospels. Five Golden rings are the first five books of the Old Testament written by Moses. Seven Swans a-swimming are the seven gifts of holy spirits. Eight maids milking are the eight beatitudes. Nine ladies dancing are the nine gifts of the holy spirit. Ten lords leaping stand for ten commandments. Eleven pipers piping represent 11 faithful apostles. Finally, the twelve drummers drumming are the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle’s Creed.
Major Themes in “The Twelve Days of Christmas”: Religion, love, and faith are the major themes of this poem. Though this poem seems a simple composition about a lover who greets his beloved with remarkable gifts, these gifts are not ordinary. Catholics used this song impart their religious knowledge when the Catholicism was criminalized.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in “The Twelve Days of Christmas”

literary devices are tools used by writers to convey their emotions, ideas, and themes to make texts more appealing to the reader. The analysis of some of the literary devices used in this poem has been discussed below.

Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. The entire song is imagery as they describe the presents he/she has received.
Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects different in nature. The song is an extended metaphor as each object in the carol represents a Biblical significance.
Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sounds of /t/ and /r/ in “Two turtle doves, and; A partridge in a pear tree”.
Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession. For example, the sound /s/ in “Seven swans a-swimming”, the sound of /d/ in “Nine drummers drumming”.
Symbolism: Symbolism means using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. For example, “ladies dancing” symbolizes the nine fruits of Holy Spirit, “Lords A-Leaping” is a symbol of Ten Commandments and “calling birds” are the four Gospels.
Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example,

“The eleventh day of Christmas
My true love sent to me
Eleven ladies dancing,
Ten pipers piping.”

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “The Twelve Days of Christmas”

Poetic and literary devices are featured as same. However, the main difference is that poetic devices are used to shape structural features, while literary devices refer to the use of figurative language. The analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem has been given below.

Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are twelve stanzas in this poem, and each comprises of different verses.
Quatrain: Quatrain is four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here, the second stanza is quatrain.
End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make a stanza melodious. The poet has used end rhyme in this poem such as in the first and last stanzas the rhyming words are, “me/tree”, “swimming/drumming” and “milking and laying.”
Repetition: There is a repetition of the verse “A partridge in a pear tree” which has created a musical quality in the poem.
Refrain: The lines that are repeated again at some distance in the poems are called refrain. The verse, “A partridge in a pear tree” is repeated with the same words and has become a refrain as it has been repeated in all stanzas.

Quotes to be Used

The lines stated below can be used while teaching backward numbers using these lines. The repetition of some consonant sounds in the given lines will help them learn phonetics as well.

The twelfth day of Christmas
My true love sent to me
Twelve fiddlers fiddling,
Eleven ladies dancing,
Ten pipers piping,
Nine drummers drumming,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five gold rings,
Four colly birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves, and
A partridge in a pear tree.