The Twelfth Day of Christmas and other Stuff

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Happy Twelfth Day of Christmas. According to a song, it's the day when someones's true love gave to them twelve Lords a leaping, along with many other items including eight maids a milking, seven swans a swimming, six geese a laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

In honor of the day, I've posted a picture of an illustration (by Roberta Baird) of the bird known as a cuckoo atop this entry. According to a web-page (12 Birds of Christmas), "The lords a-leaping are cuckoos. The cuckoo hen notoriously lays her eggs in another bird's nest. Because of this the cuckoo became a symbol for immorality and disorder. Not just this day, but the whole season of twelve days was a time of misrule and sexual license. The world was turned upside down, and the lowliest laborers might become the highest lords. The twelve lords a-leaping bring the song to an end, since twelve is the number of completion. As we return to normal life again, we remember that spring will be coming, life will be renewed, order will form out of disorder, and the cycle will continue."

And FYI, today is not only The Twelfth Day of Christmas, it is also National Bird Day...

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... which I've written about in bygone years; please click here to reference those entries.

Now have yourself a merry little Twelfth Day of Christmas and remember tonight is Twelfth Night!

Addendum: 

It seems the caption on Ms. Baird's illustration may be wrong. A number of resources discussing "The Twelve Days of Christmas," state that on the Twelfth Day of Christmas, someone gave their true love twelve drummers drumming along with other gifts. And it was on the tenth day that they gave their lover lords a leaping (10 in total) along with other gifts. 

The Eleventh Day of Christmas and other Stuff

It's The Eleventh Day of Christmas, the day when someones's true love gave to them (according to a song) eleven pipers's along with many other gifts, inncluding eight maids a milking, seven swans a swimming, six geese a laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree. In honor of Christmas's Eleventh Day, I've posted my photo of an ornament that were created in honor of today's occasion of piper's piping.

The Tenth Day of Christmas and other Stuff

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Happy Tenth Day of Christmas, the day when someones's true love gave to them (according to a song) ten pipers piping, nine drummers drumming; as well as eight maids a milking, seven swans a swimming, six geese a laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

The web-page, 12 Birds Of Christmas, has this to say re The Tenth Day of Christmas: "We sing the song with the ten lords a-leaping, but originally it was ten pipers piping, at least in England. In earliest known variant found in North America, on the Tenth Day of Christmas, the true love sent ten Cocks A-Crowing. It's all the same, however. Cocks and sandpipers were both legendary for being noisy, excitable, vain and arrogant, feisty, and sexually aggressive  It was shortly after the broadside was published that the word 'rooster' replaced 'cock' in polite company in North America. That may help explain why we don't hear that version today..." 

In honor of the gift of pipers piping on this Tenth Day of Christmas, I've posted an illustration by  Roberta Baird, whose whose other bird illustration I included in yesterday's post here on Blogger.

The Ninth Day of Christmas and other Stuff

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Happy Ninth Day of Christmas, dear reader! This is the day when someones's true love gave to them (according to a song) nine drummers drumming; as well as eight maids a milking, seven swans a swimming, six geese a laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree. In honor of the day, I've posted a picture (by the illustrator Roberta Baird) of a bird known as a drummer atop this entry.

According to a web-page (12 Birds of Christmas), "with this verse, the order of the gifts we sing is changed from the original. Instead of ladies dancing, in the earliest known version, on this day drummers were drumming. In England and mainland Europe, the most common drumming bird was the Snipe. Where and when snipes do their drumming is important. Snipes drum in the spring soon after fields have been plowed and are most fertile, and until the mid-18th Century when the new year began. The number nine represents harmony and eternity. Fertility coupled with both harmony and eternity creates the most powerful force we can know."

By the way since this Ninth Day of Christmas is falling on a Wednesday, the day designated in social media as Wednesday's Wisdom I have a bit to offer but it has nothing to do with drummers drumming or any other bird for that matter.

It's now 2019 + also the 8th Day of Christmas! (Tuesday's Truths WK 108)

Happy New Year, dear reader. Hope you had a joy-filled New Year's Eve! As for me, I spent part of mine watching the fireworks in Central Park. It was quite a rainy Eve but that did not deter people from enjoying the display, and at least we could have umbrellas! 

I'm told umbrellas aren't allowed in the areas where people go to view the ball drop in Time Square, but as I said in an FB post, that event has never interested me. 

Bringing in a New Year by being in nearby Central Park with mostly 'hood people who are viewing the display of fireworks (some pictures of this year's"show" can be seen directly below) has been my standard for many years; and in fact, I wrote about this event a number of times here on Blogger, including a 2011 entry.

On another note, not only is today the first day of 2019, it's also The Eighth Day of Christmas, the day when someones's true love (according to a song) gave to them eight maids a milking, seven swans a swimming, six geese a laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

Today's the Seventh Day of Christmas 2018

It's The Seventh Day of Christmas, the day (according to a song) when someones's true love gave to them seven swans a swimming, six geese a laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

The web-page for 12 Birds of Christmas has this to say about the bird type who represents the Seventh Day: "... Swans are birds of elegance and mystery. Seven represents mystery and elegance, largely in part to the movement of the seven planets [only seven were known until 1846]. Planets moved unlike all the other stars and had their own intricate patterns – nothing was more elegant and mysterious. Swans a-swimming represent Water, another of the four life-giving elements."

In honor of Christmas's Seventh Day, I've posted my photo of an ornament based on today's occasion.

[Followers of this blog may recognize the image as it is included in my 2017 and 2016 blog entry re Christmas's Seventh Day.]

The Sixth Day of Christmas 2018

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It's The Sixth Day of Christmas, the day (according to a song) when someones's true love gave to them six geese a laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree. In honor of Christmas's Sixth Day, I've posted an illustration of geese a laying atop this entry.

Re the reference to these birds in the song, a web-page (12 Birds of Christmas) has this to say: "The important element is the "a-laying" part. The Egg represents the birth, creation and new life. And what about the number Six? Because of the shape of the number, which is a continuous, spiraling curve without angle, it too represents the cycle of life. Geese, when they aren't a-laying, are birds of the Air, an element that includes the sky and the heavens."

As you can see, geese a laying are certainly the theme of the illustration that I've included here; as for me, over the many times that I've seen geese (the Canadian variety) in Central Park, they certainly haven't been a laying.

The Fifth Day of Christmas 2018

It's The Fifth Day of Christmas, the day (according to a song) when someones's true love gave to them five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree. In honor of Christmas's Fifth Day, I've posted my photo of an ornament based on today's occasion.

On The Fifth Day of Christmas in 2016, here on Blogger, I included a copy of this same picture along with an interesting backstory today's celebration. If you'd like to read that blog entry, please click here. As you will see that post discussed the relationship of pheasants to today's holiday.

Today I find myself associating five golden rings with a bird type.

The 2nd Day of Christmas 2018

It's the second day of Christmas 2018, which is sometimes called Boxing Day, and honor of this occasion since I can't give you two turtle doves (in keeping in line with a song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas"), I'm "giving" you a mini essay (posted above) by E.B. White, which was published on this day of December 26th in 1936.

Northern Shovelers on The 1st Day of Xmas!

As I said earlier today, it's the First Day of Christmas, a day when someone (according to a song) gave their true love a Partridge in a Pear Tree. No one has given me any such gift on this day which is now drawing to a close, but when I took a short walk in Central Park this afternoon, I was given the gift of seeing Northern Shovelers swimming in the lake!

It's been over a year since I saw this bird type and what a delight it was to see them again.

Not a bad bird gift to receive as a sighting on this First Day of Christmas!

Today, 1-5-2017, is The 12th Day of Christmas! (It's also time to go a-wassailing!)

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Today, 1-5-2017, is The 12th Day of Christmas! (It's also time to go a-wassailing!)

According to a web-page, "At the start of Twelfth Night the Twelfth Night cake was eaten. This was a rich cake made with eggs and butter, fruit, nuts and spices. The modern Italian Panettone is the cake we currently have that's most like the old Twelfth Night cake.

"A dried pea or bean was cooked in the cake. Whoever found it was the Lord (or Lady) of Misrule for night. The Lord of Misrule led the celebrations and was dressed like a King (or Queen). This tradition goes back to the Roman celebrations of Saturnalia. In later times, from about the Georgian period onwards, to make the Twelfth Night 'gentile', two tokens were put in the cake (one for a man and one for a women) and whoever found them became the the 'King' and 'Queen' of the Twelfth Night party.

"In English Cathedrals during the middle ages there was the custom of the 'Boy Bishop' where a boy from the Cathedral or monastery school was elected as a Bishop on 6th December (St Nicholas Day) and had the authority of a Bishop (except to perform Mass) until 28th December. King Henry VIII banned the practise in 1542 although it came back briefly under Mary I in 1552 but Elizabeth I finally stopped it during her reign.

"During Twelfth Night it was traditional for different types of pipes to be played, especially bagpipes. Lots of games were played including ones with eggs. These included tossing an egg between two people moving further apart during each throw - drop it and you lose and passing an egg around on spoons. Another popular game was 'snapdragon' where you picked raisins or other dried fruit out of a tray of flaming brandy!

"The first monday after Christmas feast has finished was known as ‘Plough Monday’ as this was when farming work would all begin again!

"In many parts of the UK, people also went Wassailing on Twelfth Night."

Christmas Customs and Traditions explains that "Wassailing is a very ancient custom that is rarely done today. The word 'wassail' comes from the Anglo-Saxon phrase 'waes hael', which means 'good health'. Originally, the wassail was a drink made of mulled ale, curdled cream, roasted apples, eggs, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and sugar. It was served from huge bowls, often made of silver or pewter. Jesus College, in Oxford University, has a Wassail bowl, that is covered with silver. It can hold 10 gallons of drink! Wassailing was traditionally done on New Year's Eve and Twelfth Night, but some rich people drank Wassail on all the 12 days of Christmas! The Wassail drink mixture was sometimes called 'Lamb's Wool', because of the pulp of the roasted apples looked all frothy and a bit like Lambs Wool!" 

And they offer a recipe for wassail which can be found by clicking here. Christmas Customs and Traditions also states "one legend about how Wassailing was created, says that a beautiful Saxon maiden named Rowena presented Prince Vortigen with a bowl of wine while toasting him with the words 'waes hael'. Over the centuries, a great deal of ceremony developed around the custom of drinking wassail. The bowl was carried into a room with a great fanfare, a traditional carol about the drink was sung, and finally, the steaming hot beverage was served."

Supposedly, "from this it developed into a another way of saying Merry Christmas to each other! (and) one of the most popular Wassailing Carols went like this:

"Here we come a-wassailing

Among the leaves so green,

Here we come a-wassailing,

So fair to be seen:

Love and joy come to you,

And to you your wassail too,

And God bless you and send you,

A happy New Year,

And God send you, A happy new year."

Tuesday's Truths: WK 23: Ten Lords A Leaping

Welcome to the twenty-third week of my Tuesday's Truths series! Today also happens to be the Tenth day of the twelve days of Christmas! [This post is in the process of being updated.]

Christmas's Ninth Day

It's the ninth day of Christmas!  [This post is in the process of being updated.]

The Octave (or The Eighth Day) Of Christmas AND The Start of a NEW YEAR!

It's the first day of a new year! I'm wondering, dear reader, how did you ring in 2017? As for me, I spent mine doing my usual routine of seeing an annual display of fireworks (sponsored by The Midnight Run) in near by Central Park. This event is something I've blogged about since 2010 (at the end of my first full year on Blogger)!

The photographs atop this entry feature some of the images that I took of last night's fireworks display; and as you can see, they certainly lit up the trees and the sky! I can't help wondering what this does to any birds that might've been sleeping in those tree-tops!

In any event, today is also the last day of Chanukah as well as the last day of Kwanzaa. Moreover, it's The Octave of Christmas or the eighth day of Christmas; the day when someone's true love gave to them the following gifts: eight maids a milking, seven swans a swimming, six geese a laying, five golden rings, four birds a calling (or a colling or a coaling), as well as the gifts of three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

As I mentioned in a recent posting here on Blogger, John R. Henderson, has studied the meaning behind the lyrics to the twelve days song, and has posted his findings on a web-page which he has titled the 12 Birds of Christmas. Here's what Henderson points out re a bird type associated with the giving of eight maids a milking on this eighth day of Christmas:

"Here be eight Magpies. Magpies are black birds with milky white patches. Magpies are birds full of power and are portents used in fortune-telling. Eight has many different meanings symbolically, but one very important one is a new beginning. Different numbers of magpies can mean different things, "five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret never told," but eight magpies remind us to put the old behind us as we start afresh. It seems significant but must be only a coincidence that by some reckoning that New Year's Day is the Eighth Day of Christmas."

At this time, I don't recall ever seeing a magpie, although I certainly have heard a lot of interesting facts re this bird type.  Be that as it may, Mr. Henderson's ideas have truly given me something to keep in mind if I ever happen to see a magpie.

Meanwhile, the gift of eight maids a milking on this eighth day of Christmas, will have to be represented by the ornament featured in the image directly below.

I got it at More & More Antiques, an (an exquisite shop located on Manhattan's UWS), that is now selling my fauna-flora-insect-themed postcards.

Today is known as The 7th Day of Christmas! (It's also the last day of 2016!)

Today may be the last day of 2016, but it's also the seventh day of Christmas! And, if you are familiar  with the song known as The Twelve Days Of Christmas, dear reader, then you probably recall that on the seventh day of Christmas, someone's true love gave to them these gifts: seven swans a swimming, six geese a laying, five golden rings, four birds a calling (or a colling or a coaling), as well as the gifts of three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

As I mentioned in a recent posting here on Blogger, John R. Henderson, has studied the meaning behind the lyrics to the twelve days song, and has posted his findings on a web-page which he has titled the 12 Birds of Christmas. Here's what Henderson points out re the bird (swan) type associated with the giving of seven swans a swimming on this seventh day of Christmas:

"A message to celebrate the beauty of the unknown. Swans are birds of elegance and mystery. Seven represents mystery and elegance, largely in part to the movement of the seven planets (only seven were known until 1846). Planets moved unlike all the other stars and had their own intricate patterns – nothing was more elegant and mysterious. Oddly, although the swans are swimming they represent Air, which as an element includes the sky and the heavens."

At this time, I only recall seeing swans in a park not too far from where I grew up, however I haven't seen a swan in recent times. Be that as it may, Mr. Henderson's ideas have truly given me something to keep in mind the next time I happen to see a swan a swimming. Meanwhile, swans for the seventh day of Christmas, will have to be represented by the swan-themed ornament featured in the image atop today's entry.

Flash Back Friday: The Sixth Day of Christmas (Three Years Later)

Today is the sixth day of Christmas and it is a "holiday" that I wrote about three years ago in an entry here on Blogger, where I included the image of the figurine featured atop this posting. If you'd like to refer to that post, please click here.

Meanwhile, dear reader, if you are familiar with the lyrics to a song known as The Twelve Days of Christmas, than you know, that on this sixth day of Christmas, someone's true love gave to them, six geese a laying, five golden rings, four birds a calling (or a colling or a coaling), as well as the gifts of three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

As I mentioned in the day before yesterday's Blogger posting, John R. Henderson, has studied the meaning behind the lyrics to the twelve days song, and has posted his findings on a web-page which he has titled the 12 Birds of Christmas. Here's what Henderson points out re the bird (geese) type associated with the giving of six geese a-laying on this sixth day of Christmas:

"The important element is the 'a-laying' part. The Egg represents the creation cycle of birth, death, re-birth. And what about the number Six? Because of the shape of the number, which is a continuous, spiraling curve without angle, it too represents the cycle of life. Geese also represent Water, another of the four life-giving elements."

Mr. Henderson's ideas have truly given me something to keep in mind the next time I happen to see geese. My encounters with this bird type (the Canadian variety) have taken place in Central Park as well as when I've been down by the Hudson Riverside on the westside of  NYC.

The Fifth Day of Christmas

Today's the fifth day of the 2016-2017 Christmas season. It is a day when according to a song (The Twelve Days of Christmas), that someone's true love gave to them five golden rings, four calling birds, as well as three french hens, and a partridge in a pear tree. The Christmas ornament seen in the photograph atop this entry is representative of today's gift that a true love gave to someone near and dear to him/her. And it's the gift I plan to bring it to a married couple that live not too far from me at some time today. I hope they will enjoy this bird-themed ornament as much as I do, but then, I'm someone who deeply appreciates birds, as evidenced by my posts here on Blogger, as well as by my entries on tumblr, Facebook, hometalk and Pinterest.

As I mentioned in yesterday's Blogger posting, John R. Henderson, has studied the meaning behind the lyrics to the twelve days song, and has posted his findings on a web-page which he has titled the 12 Birds of Christmas. Here's what Henderson, who associates pheasants with the fifth day of Christmas points out re this bird type and the giving of five golden rings on this fifth day of Christmas:

"They may not sound bird-like to you, but these are ring-necked pheasants. Not native to Europe, pheasants had been introduced there during Roman times and were quite common throughout Europe before the rise of Christianity. Pheasants were symbols of the element of Fire and sensuous sexuality. The number Five also represents sensuality and magic. Ever wonder why there is so much emphasis, rhythmically, to this verse?"

Mr. Henderson's theory has certainly given me something to keep in mind the next time I happen to see a pheasant. My encounters with this bird type have been minimal, the last time I saw a pheasant was this past spring.

Wednesday's Wisdom Facts Re "4 calling birds"

Yesterday, was the third day of  Christmas; and here on Blogger, I weighed in with my musings re that particular holiday and included some thoughts on the second as well as the first day of Christmas.

Today is known as the fourth day of Christmas, the day when someone's true love gave to them four calling birds or four colly birds; depending on one's interpretation of the story told within the song, The Twelve Days of Christmas.

Growing up, I was always led to believe that on the fourth day of Christmas someone's true love gave to them, four calling birds, three french hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree. Now, after all these years of singing the twelve days, I've discovered one's true love was never given calling birds; rather he/she was most likely given colly or coaly birds!

According to "research and speculative detective work" done by John R. Henderson, "the version of the Twelve Days of Christmas that we know today dates back only as far as 1909, when arranger Frederic Austin's transcription of the words and his own tune were published in London. The three earliest printed versions (with no music) date back to about 1780, and it is noteworthy that the order of the gifts was different than the Twentieth Century version. The song was old when it was first published. One scholar has found what she thinks are elements of the song in a damaged manuscript from the seventh century, the time of Beowulf, the great heroic pagan poem.

"Most of what we know about the Anglo-Celtic pagan religion comes from Christian writers condemning it. What the Anglo-Celts actually believed will never be known for sure, but there are clues. We know numbers had special signifigance to them, and we know that birds were honored as holy symbols of fertility. That in itself might actually provide even more evidence of the song's true non-Christian origins."

Henderson states that on the fourth day of Christmas, one was given four colly birds and he claims "the birds are really Colly Birds, not Calling Birds. Colly birds may be any of several coal-black birds – crows, jackdaws, rooks, or ravens. These birds of the night carry the power and mystery of the dark season of the year. The raven was the bird of battle. Four is an important number to link with the darkness, since Four is the number of the Earth, which, though now asleep and filled in darkness, remains fertile and a potent elemental source of power. "

I have no pictures of crows, jackdaws, rooks or ravens in the collection of bird images that I've taken over the years. Therefore, I'm representing these coal-colored birds by featuring images (atop this entry) of figurines based on crow varieties.

Tuesday's Truths WK 22: The 3rd Day of Christmas

Welcome to the twenty-second week of my Tuesday's Truths series! Today also happens to be the third day of the twelve days of Christmas. This series of days is represented pictorially in an image atop my blog post and details re this picture can be found by clicking here.

According to a  Christmas-related web-page, "The 12 Days of Christmas start on Christmas Day and last until the evening of the 5th January - also known as Twelfth Night. The 12 Days have been celebrated in Europe since before the middle ages and were a time of celebration."