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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