Beech Tree News Network

During December, we often hear Christmas music. It has become a traditional part of our celebration. We all know most of the songs. One we often hear is “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” an old song that uses repetition with each verse building on previous verses.

The lyrics of this song seem random. Some have suggested that they were written to educate Christians in the doctrines of faith without being obvious to persecutors. Others believe the song was used to play a game, trying to repeat the lyrics correctly (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twelve_Days_of_Christmas_%28song%29). Regardless, this song has survived for centuries.

I’ve often wondered how the lyrics might be changed to reflect our more modern lifestyle. Since we don’t commonly hear of turtle doves or partridges being given as Christmas gifts, what would replace them today? If the lyrics were modernized to reflect our society, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” might go something like this:
On the twelfth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Twelve (drummers drumming) days of vacation,
Eleven (pipers piping) concert tickets,
Ten (lords a-leaping) movie passes,
Nine (ladies dancing) phone apps,
Eight (maids a-milking) quarts of eggnog,
Seven (swans a-swimming) car-wash tokens,
Six (geese a-laying) fast-food cards,
Five (golden rings) Pandora charms,
Four (calling birds) fruit baskets,
Three (French hens) boxes of candy,
Two (turtle doves) sliced hams,
And (a partridge in a pear tree) an ornament for my tree!

Christmas music is fun, and “The Twelve Days of Christmas” makes me smile. So, I wouldn’t really want to change it. As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, I wish you a very merry Christmas!