12 Days of Christmas Origin

Did you know that the song "The 12 Days of Christmas” is referring to the twelve days after Christmas? I grew up thinking it was about the twelve days leading up to Christmas, but apparently not!

Up through the 1800s, Christmas celebrations began on Christmas Eve and lasted through Epiphany, which is celebrated on January 6th. And if you’re quick with math, you’ll realize that is 14 days total, but the 12 days are counting the time starting when Christ was born to when the wise men visited him.

Now the song (the 12 Days of Christmas) began as a parlor game in which people would come up with nonsensical items that their true love sent to them for Christmas, and each verse added another item, building up a massive list, which the subsequent players would have to recite correctly or lose the game. It didn’t have standardized verses until about the 1700s (though there are lots of versions out there), and it wasn’t set to music until the 1900s.

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Видео 12 Days of Christmas Origin канала M.A. Nichols