Themed Parties on the Twelve Days of Christmas
Background to and Ideas For Entertaining Based on a Yuletide Song
Nov 1, 2009
"The 12 Days of Christmas" is a very old song which is traditionally sung at Christmas. Its origins and the name of its author are lost in the mists of time. Whatever the reasons for it being written, it offers a fantastic base on which to theme dinners and parties in the sometimes bleak period immediately after Christmas – or, indeed, at any time of the year.
The Period and Meaning of "The Twelve Days of Christmas"
The twelve days of Christmas covers the period from Christmas to Epiphany which, according to the Christian faith, is when the three wise men visited the infant Jesus bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Some scholars say the words of the song are symbols for Christian religious items like the Old and New Testaments (two turtle doves) and the ten commandments (ten lords a-leaping). Others say it was simply devised as a memory game.
It was, according to John Stokoe in an article in the January 1888 edition of Monthly Chronicle of North-Country Lore and Legend, when: “… in olden times, the days of the whole year wherein to make merry and to fraternize in mirth and good fellowship.” He goes on to explain how "The Twelve Days of Christmas" was sung as a game where if a singer made a mistake, they had to pay a forfeit.
The Words of "The Twelve Days of Christmas Song"
There are many regional and national variations of the words to this song. The series of articles which link with this one focuses on the words in Stokoe’s version of 1888 which are:
- A partridge on a pear tree
- Two turtle doves
- Three French hens
- Four colly birds
- Five gold rings
- Six geese a laying
- Seven swans a-swimming
- Eight maids a milking
- Nine drummers drumming
- Ten pipers piping
- Eleven ladies dancing
- Twelve lords a-leaping
There is a wonderful parody called “Christmas Countdown” released by Frank Kelly (of Father Ted fame) in the early 1980s. It is essentially the reading of a series of thank you letters written by Gobnait O’Lúnasa to Nuala for the gifts that keep arriving on a daily basis. On the twelfth day, Gobnait addresses Nuala as “slurry head” and signs off saying “I’m a broken man.”
Twelve Days Dinner Ideas and Party Themes
The words of this popular Christmas song can be used to theme a series of parties and dinner menus not just on the twelve days of Christmas itself, but at any other time of the year. However, early January would be a good time as it is often when post festivity blues can set in, particularly in the northern hemisphere when the days are short and the weather is cold.
Readers may be interested in this article The First Day of Christmas Party and Menu Themes which gives ideas and recipes for parties and meals based on partridges and pears.
 |
 |
 |
