Vocalist.org archive


From:  Peter Louis van Dijk <plvdijk@i...>
Peter Louis van Dijk <plvdijk@i...>
Date:  Tue Dec 26, 2000  9:54 am
Subject:  Re: [vocalist-temporary] 12 days of Christmas


That sort of crossed my mind, about it being pretty standard Protestantism.
But it doesn't hurt to think of a deeper meaning. Before I got this post, I
only thought of the funny version. I can't remember who that was by, but it
did feature someone getting more and more hysterical as the house filled up!
Have a good New Year.
Regards
Susi.

----------
>From: Karen <kjensen@c...>
>From: Karen <kjensen@c...>
>To: vocalist-temporary@egroups.com
>Subject: Re: [vocalist-temporary] 12 days of Christmas
>Date: Tue, Dec 26, 2000, 5:24 AM
>

> 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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