The 12 Days of Christmas Originated Where?

One of the very merry Carols of the Christmas Season is a delightful naming of the 12 Days of Christmas. What have leaping lords, French hens and geese-a-laying to do with Christmas? From 1558 until 1829 Roman Catholics in England and Ireland were not permitted to openly practice their faith. A gifted and creative catechism teacher invented the 12 Days of Christmas carol as a sort of code to remember the religious truths of their faith. The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus Christ.

The two turtle doves are the Old and New Testaments. The three French hens are Faith, hope and love. The four calling birds are the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

The five golden rings are the Torah, or the Law, the first five books of the Old Testament (also called the Pentateuch).

The six geese-a-laying are the six days of creation. The seven swans a-swimming represent the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. These can also represent prophesy, serving, teaching, exhortation, contribution, leadership and mercy, as in the seven corporal and spiritual works of mercy. They may also represent the seven Sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Reconciliation/Confession, Holy Orders, Matrimony, the Sacrament of the Sick. The eight maids a-milking are the eight beatitudes. The nine ladies dancing are nine fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace. patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The ten lords-a-leaping are the Ten Commandments. The eleven pipers piping were the eleven faithful apostles. The twelve drummers drumming represent the twelve points of belief in the Apostles Creed.

She's a Light for Us All

Today the Church celebrates a Saint of Light in the midst of winter's darkest days: St. Lucy. Her name comes from the Latin lux which means light. One of the first women venerated in the Church since the 4th century, Lucy was a Christian young woman. The story goes that her mother had a debilitating illness. Both Lucy and her mother went to the tomb of the martyr St. Agatha also from Sicily. While there, Lucy had a dream in which St. Agatha came to tell her that her mother would be cured. Lucy, however, would witness to Christ by dying a martyr. A persecution of Christians broke out. A young man who had hoped to marry Lucy turned on her and denounced her as a Christian. Attempts to put her to death failed, until finally an executioner plunged a sword into her heart. Her name is remembered each time that the Roman Canon, or First Eucharistic Prayer, is used at Mass.

I was surprised to discover that until the Reformation, St. Lucy Day was celebrated each year with great festivities in England. In Scandinavian countries, St. Lucy is celebrated each year with young women dressed in white with red sashes which represent Lucy's virginity and martyrdom. The women wear wreathes of lighted candles on their heads as they gather and process. Lucy spread the light of the Gospel with her courage and faith. So we are called to spread the light of faith through our prayers and example. Jesus said, "You are the light of the world." Today may we brush off anything that hinders others from seeking the Christ Light within us.

Many people pray to St. Lucy to be healed from ailments of the eye. Pauline Books & Media publishes a St. Lucy Novena booklet Contact or visit Pauline Books & Media to procure a St. Lucy Novena booklet for yourself or for someone praying for better eye sight. Go to www.pauline.org. Have a blessed day!

It's Already Upon Us!

The season of Advent is upon us! The first December weekend in Boston, our Daughters of St. Paul Choir performed their annual Christmas Concert. This year's title is "Love Among Us." Because the Concert would be the opening act of our Advent Season, our dining room was thoroughly decorated, Christmas tree and all! Many guests have to pass through the dining room on their way to chapel and to the book and craft fair, and lots of convent baked cookies in Cushing Hall under the chapel . Advent is just 24 days long, ending on Christmas Eve. Some folks may not even be aware of this gem of a season when in our part of the globe nights begin so early, and we long for more light. Indoor and outdoor lighted displays feature Santa and Rudolph the red nosed Reindeer. Some feature the event which is the reason for the Christmas Season, the stable of Bethlehem and the figures of Jesus, the Infant, and Mary and Joseph. The liturgical colors for Advent are purple and pink. The Third Sunday of Advent which this year falls on Sunday, December 17, is called "Gaudete Sunday, or Rejoice Sunday. The Mass vestments for Guadete Sunday may be rose (or pink) colored. This is to indicate the joy that our Savior approaches. The purple vestments used on the other Advent days indicate the time of preparation as we "make way" for the coming of the Lord. This time of getting the path of the Lord ready requires that we clear out space in our souls for his arrival. Just as when we get ready for a visit from relatives or good friends, we try to get rid of the junk that clutters our home or garage, or even our yard. So in Advent we try to be more attentive to God's advent in our lives. One practice which you might want to use--if you haven't done so yet--is the lighting of the Advent Candles. You can use a wreath with four candle holders, or use four flat candle holders arranged in a circle. You may want to arrange pine cones, evergreen, or other greenery around the wreath. If you can't find the colored purple and pink candles, you can tie purple ribbons at the base of white candles and a pink ribbon on the candle representing Gaudete Sunday. By the way, all of our Pauline Books & Media Centers in the USA and English-speaking Canada stock Advent candles. Check out our locations on our web site: www.pauline.org. The ideal is to use three purple and one pink candle to symbolize the Sundays and weeks of Advent, and the centuries during which the Jewish people awaited the coming of the Messiah. Families can use the Advent Wreath ceremony as a way to instill the idea of spiritual readiness into the minds and hearts of children. The lighting ritual give a family time to pause a bit longer to reflect on what Christmas means.