Okay – so what were you doing at 15.53 GMT on Thursday 21st December? You don’t remember or you didn’t notice
anything? Well, that was the time that
marked the winter solstice - the astronomical first day on winter, the
shortest day of the year. This was a huge festival in Celtic times and the Druids called it Alban Arthan – the Light
of Winter. And this festival is not restricted to the Celtic culture – the summer
and winter solstices are seen as possibly the oldest seasonal festivals
observed by man. In a response, in part that of faith and fear, man observed
the sun’s ‘departure’ and tried with all his might to cajole her life-giving forces
to return.
On that day I was in the spa, swimming away,
when I heard a little Greek lad heartily join in the chorus of the piped music,
‘And a partridge in a pear tree’ When I
asked him if he knew what it meant, he proudly told me it was about a bird
sitting on a branch of a pear tree. Well done, that lad!
And this got me thinking about what these twelve days actually represent. A quick
pool-poll revealed that fellow-swimmers/exercisers were confused: some thought
the twelve days began on Christmas day and ended on Epiphany, marking the birth
and baptism of Christ, respectively. Others, although agreeing as to when those
twelve days were, disagreed on what they meant, believing that Epiphany
represents the arrival of the three kings or the magi, bearing gifts for the
newborn child. The Greek word epihania, meaning
‘revelation’, could allow for either of these interpretations.
I looked to
the carol itself to see what light it could shed on my puzzle.
The Catholic News Agency reports:
The song, "The Twelve
Days of Christmas" is an English Christmas carol. From 1558 until 1829,
Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly.
Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young
Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden
meaning known only to members of the Church. Each element in the carol has a
code word for a religious reality which the children could remember. To fit the
number scheme, when you reach number 9, representing the Fruits of the Holy
Ghost, the originator combined 6 to make 3, taking the 6 fruits that were
similar: the fruit in each parenthesis is the that was not named separately.
There are actually Twelve Fruits of the Holy Ghost.
The "True Love" one
hears in the song is not a smitten boy or girlfriend but Jesus Christ, because
truly Love was born on Christmas Day. The partridge in the pear tree also
represents Him because that bird is willing to sacrifice its life if necessary
to protect its young by feigning injury to draw away predators.
This coded reference all sounds a
bit Dan Brown to me.
Ann Ball, in Handbook
of Catholic Sacramentals, interprets
the song symbolism so:
The two turtle doves were the Old and New
Testaments
The three French hens stood for faith, hope, and love.
The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John.
The five golden rings represented the first five books of the Old Testament,
which describe man's fall into sin and the great love of God in sending a
Savior.
The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
Seven swans a-swimming represented
the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit-----Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation,
Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
Nine ladies dancing were the
nine fruits of the Holy Spirit-----Charity, Joy, Peace, Patience [Forbearance],
Goodness [Kindness], Mildness, Fidelity, Modesty, Continency [Chastity].
The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments.
The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful Apostles.
The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in
The Apostles' Creed.
That all seems a touch contrived.
Still not satisfied with what our
Christian sources have to say, I head back to the Druids for further
enlightenment – and what I find is fascinating.
It was at this time of year the Druids
celebrated their fire festival. Now the custom of decorating trees is an
ancient one – the pine tree, being evergreen, held mysteries of survival in the
dark days of winter. The holly, with its vibrant red berries, was also regarded
as precious and holly garlands were worn during the festivities. The mistletoe was,
to them, a sacred plant which had the properties of healing, protection and
fertility. These trees and plants played significant roles in their solstice
ceremonies: mistletoe, for example, was cut and given as a blessing, since it symbolized
life.
To the people of yore, the sun was a wheel –
from which the word yule is said to
be derived - whose revolutions brought about the seasonal changes. At the
winter solstice the sun is at its southernmost position and for a few days, before
and after, its movement almost imperceptible, hence the word solstice:
from the Latin sol: sun, and sistere: to stand still. Similarly in
Greek the word iliostaio suggests the sun stopping.
The Celts believed the sun actually stood still
for twelve days. Ahah, that number, again! So, to keep on the good side of
these forces of nature, on the eve of the solstice the yule log was lit and
this fire was kept burning for those twelve days to overwhelm the darkness,
banish evil spirits and to receive good luck for the coming year.
This Christmas as we light our candles, decorate our halls with holly, sit by
a blazing log fire, we can think on how we are copying our pre-Christian
predecessors.
And as we kiss under the mistletoe, we truly are responding to the urges
of prehistoric man!
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