People often think of "The

Twelve Days of Christmas" as the days before Christmas.

Guess what? That's not when

they are, and the song about them is much "deeper" than you

may have thought!

Actually, Christmas is not

only a day, but also a season of the Christian Church year. The season

of Christmas lasts for 12 days. It begins on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, and

lasts until Jan. 6, the Day of Epiphany, when the church celebrates the

revelation of Christ as the savior of the world and recalls the journey,

visit and homage of The Magi (the wisemen... We don't really know how

many wisemen there were. We get the number three from their three gifts

­ gold, frankincense and myrrh, but that's another story...)

Apparently, from 1558 until

1829 Roman Catholics in England were not allowed to practice their faith

openly. During that era an ingenious teacher wrote the song "The

Twelve Days of Christmas" as a kind of secret catechism that could

be sung in public without risk of persecution. Thus, it became a teaching

tool to instruct young people in the meaning and content of the faith.

"The Twelve Days of Christmas"

is an allegory. Each of the items in the song represents something of

religious significance. The hidden meaning of each gift was designed to

help young Christians learn their faith.

The song goes: "On the

first day of Christmas my true love gave to me ..."

The "true love"

represents God, and the "me" who receives these gifts is the

Christian.

The "partridge in a pear

tree" is Jesus Christ who died on a tree (wooden cross) as the greatest

gift from God.

The "two turtle doves"

are the Old and New Testaments ­ another precious gift from God.

The "three French hens"

are faith, hope and love ­ the three gifts of the spirit that abide

(I Corinthians 13).

The "four calling birds"

are the four Gospel accounts ­ Matthew, Mark, Luke and John ­

which sing the song of salvation through Jesus Christ.

The "five golden rings"

are the first five books of the Bible, also called the "Books of

Moses."

The "six geese a-laying"

are the six days of creation.

The "seven swans a-swimming"

are the "seven gifts of the Holy Spirit" (Please look up I Corinthians

12:8-11; Romans 12; Ephesians 4; I Peter 4:10-11.)

The "eight maids a-milking"

are the eight "Beatitudes" (the "Blessed" Christ-like

actions of Matthew 5:3-11. Note: verses 10 and 11 are counted as one).

The "nine ladies dancing"

are the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit (Please look up Galatians 5:22-23).

The "10 lords a-leaping"

are the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20).

The "11 pipers piping"

are the 11 faithful disciples (after the betrayal by Judas).

The "12 drummers drumming"

are the 12 main points of the faith as professed in the Apostles' Creed,

which states the biblical faith in the Triune God ­ Father, Son,

and Holy Spirit.

WOW! Who would've thought?!

I hope this gives new meaning

to the "fun" song we sing at this time of year! And I pray you

find this old song to be a fresh new way to celebrate the true meaning

of Christmas.

On a personal note:

I wish each of you the true joy and peace that Christ brings as He comes

to us again in this Holy Season! I highly value my friendship with so

many of you in our community. Thank you for your thoughtful responses

to the articles I have the privilege to write. Thank you for your pleasant

greetings we share as we live daily life together here in this place.

Thank you for what you do to make the place we all call "home"

a better place for us all.

Again, MERRY CHRISTMAS! And

The BLESSINGS of GOD in the NEW YEAR!

AND if you need a place to

come to Christmas Eve candlelight service, you are most welcome here at

Prince of Peace at 7, 9, or 11 p.m. "No strings attached!"

Kollmeyer is senior pastor

of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church on Ga. Highway 314 between Lowe's and

Tinseltown at The Pavilion. Phone 770-461-3403; e-mail [email protected].

Web page HtmlResAnchor www.popdove.com .