Hello, friends. (Watching a football game with Jim Nantz announcing, so I’m borrowing his standard greeting. ?)
Welcome to T-Minus 10!
As we close in on our goal, with the holidays also just up ahead, let’s talk holiday songs.
One of the more universally well-known tunes around holiday time has ‘gotta be the “Twelve Days of Christmas.” Lots to remember, huh?
Hey, if it’s OK, let’s keep our discussion in secular terms. Cool? (Yes, the song does have some theological aspects to it, and I don’t think it’s really my place to go in that direction.)
That said, many historians believe that the song (originally recorded in 1780) eventually became the vehicle for a “memory-and-forfeit” game in late 18th Century England.
Apparently, British school children of that era came up with some simple rules: When your turn came up, you’d repeat all the previously sung lyrics, and then you would add the next one. If you couldn’t remember a verse, or only knew part of it, you’d owe your opponent a “forfeit.” And that usually meant giving up a kiss or surrendering a piece of candy. (Sort of like a cross between the store game and spin the bottle, maybe?)
Given that remembering 12 days can be more than challenging, if we dropped it to 10 days, which ones would you omit? (Again, just having fun here. No disrespect to tradition or to God intended.)
So, if you had your druthers, which one(s) would you edit out?:
1, A partridge in a pear tree
2. Two turtle doves
3. Three French hens
4. Four calling birds
5. Five golden rings
6. Six geese a laying
7. Seven swans a swimming
8. Maids a milking
9. Ladies dancing
10. Lords a leaping
11. Pipers piping
12. Drummers drumming
Which are the toughest to remember?
I tend to start walking on and tripping over my tongue right around day 9 or 10, so maybe we drop the back two?
As always, feel free to send me your pick(s) of the day.
And in the meantime, get psyched for our first single-digit-countdown day.
Manana, people!
JFish