Now that all the visiting and eating and washing up is done, it's time for
a relaxing time with Vocalist. Merry Christmas to All!
I mentioned this post to my husband who is a historian and has
recently published an encyclopedia of Christmas. He says that the story of
the Twelve Days of Christmas as secret code which Peter Louis van Dij
shared has an interesting history and that
"It is a genuine Internet urban myth which has been spread during
the last decade or so over the Web and through newsgroups such as this.
There are a number of clues that give it away as a tall tale but most
important is the fact that none of the supposedly secret meanings is
distinctly Catholic. None of the twelve codes would have been considered
anything but normal Christian orthodoxy by the Protestants which ruled
England at the time, so it would not need to have been imparted
clandestinely. If any of the meanings had been about the special status for
Catholics accorded by Mary during her brief rule (1553-1558) or the
theology of the Mass or papal monarchy, etc. then the story might be more
believable. In fact "the 12 Days" is just one of a number of similar
counting songs found in almost every European language."
(Gerry Bowler)
Cheers, Karen Jensen
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