Christmas Carol that has always baffled me...
Message boards : Cafe Rosetta : Christmas Carol that has always baffled me...
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 Stephen R Homer Send message Joined: 3 Dec 05 Posts: 8 Credit: 12,281 RAC: 0 |
There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me... What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas? 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 their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember. The partridge in a pear tree represented Jesus Christ. Two turtle doves represented the Old and New Testaments. Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love. The four calling birds represented the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke &John. The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the-Old Testament. 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 Mercy. The eight maids a-milking represented the eight beatitudes. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Nine ladies dancing represented the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit Love Joy Peace Patience Kindness Goodness Faithful-ness Gentleness Self Control. The ten lords a-leaping represented the ten commandments. I am The Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I The Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My Commandments." You shall not take The Name of The Lord your God in vain; for The Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His Name in vain. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath to The Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your manservant, or your maidservant, or your cattle, or the sojourner who is within your gates; for in six days The Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore The Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which The Lord your God gives you. You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's. The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples. Simon Peter Andrew James his brother John Philip Thomas Matthew James the son of Alphaeus Simon Thaddeus Bartholomew [COLOR="red"]The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles Creed. I believe in God the Father almighty, I also believe in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. suffered under Pontius Pilate, crucified, dead and buried; he descended into hell, rose again the third day, ascended into heaven, sat down at the right hand of the Father, thence he is to come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the remission of sins, the resurrection of the flesh and life eternal. So there Is your history for today. This knowledge was shared with me and I found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol... [FONT=president]Click Please  Thank You[/FONT]
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Stephen R Homer Send message Joined: 3 Dec 05 Posts: 8 Credit: 12,281 RAC: 0 |
I have gotten some feed back from other forums mostly from a user named Misfit that say this is all wrong his proof is this http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/t/twelvedaysofchristmas.ht I have replied to him this way your proof is only a web site KNOWN for not bieng 100% right about there facts [FONT=president]Click Please Thank You[/FONT]
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Stephen R Homer Send message Joined: 3 Dec 05 Posts: 8 Credit: 12,281 RAC: 0 |
I need to say I'm sorry to Misfit and the rest of the members I was at my wits end have spent a good part of the day responding to E-Mails about this post. Some folks took it upon them self to E-mail me and not post in the thread as I had posted this story in several forums. I have gone over board in some of my replies I meant no disrespect to any member in my postings or any of the E-mails. It's been a really bad year for me with the hurricane season I live in South Florida USA. I wanted to share something that raised my spirits. I should never have snapped at any of the posters the way I did in this or any of the other forums. I hope all have a Happy Holiday Season Stephen Homer [FONT=president]Click Please Thank You[/FONT]
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Fully Send message Joined: 10 Nov 05 Posts: 116 Credit: 665,389 RAC: 0 |
That is pretty interesting indeed Stephen. I do have a question for you though. Are you a Christian? If so you really might want to think about changing your avatar as that is pagan in a big way and you could be confusing people by sending mixed messages. As for the song, I have print that out and show it to my mother-in-law who is a devote Catholic and see what she thinks. Very cool and thanks for sharing. Ooops, Merry Christmas to you and yours as well. =) If you cant say something nice, say something vague. And if you can't think of something vague, then shut the hell up! =) |
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Stephen R Homer Send message Joined: 3 Dec 05 Posts: 8 Credit: 12,281 RAC: 0 |
That is pretty interesting indeed Stephen. I do have a question for you though. Are you a Christian? If so you really might want to think about changing your avatar as that is pagan in a big way and you could be confusing people by sending mixed messages. Thank You I belive In God and all his works as for my avatar the trinity knot stands for the Holy Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost the five trianular sections of the five-pointed star denotes the four elements, togather with spirituality at it's top it comes from the brotherhood founded by Pythagoras the Greek mathematician As I belive in God and math I hope this helps you under stand why I us it Merry Christmas to you also  [FONT=president]Click Please Thank You[/FONT]
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Ghost Plane Send message Joined: 26 Nov 05 Posts: 178 Credit: 3,118 RAC: 0 |
I don't believe in math. <grin> FADBeens |
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nasher Send message Joined: 5 Nov 05 Posts: 98 Credit: 618,288 RAC: 0 |
i dont want to get started into a religious debate here but @Stephen R Homer the symbol you are useing is a combind of 2 symbols that are used in the Wicca comunity alot.. as well as is the combination Yes the Christian Church has ADAPTED the symbol as there own but it still will confuse things. definatly an intresting story though im glad you posted it and im sorry that people flamed you  
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Fully Send message Joined: 10 Nov 05 Posts: 116 Credit: 665,389 RAC: 0 |
Thanks for the explanation Stephen. And just to let you know, again I am by no means ripping on your beliefs or anything like that, the symbols you are using were in fact Pagan in origination and adopted into Christianity along with many other Pagan holidays and such. If you put it together you did a great job as that is a very cool symbol. I have yet to hear back from my mother-in-law regarding the meaning of the Carol. I'm very interested in her take on this. Again, Merry Christmas sir and best wishes to you and yours! If you cant say something nice, say something vague. And if you can't think of something vague, then shut the hell up! =) |
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Stephen R Homer Send message Joined: 3 Dec 05 Posts: 8 Credit: 12,281 RAC: 0 |
definatly an intresting story though im glad you posted it and im sorry that people flamed you Thats why I always keep a  on hand Thanks [FONT=president]Click Please Thank You[/FONT]
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River~~ Send message Joined: 15 Dec 05 Posts: 761 Credit: 285,578 RAC: 0 |
Yes the Christian Church has ADAPTED the symbol as there own but it still will confuse things. sorry to all you wiccans, but the christians had the pentagram in the first century. It is the oldest christian emblem, it pre-dates the fish, which itself predates the cross as an emblem. It was still used as a Christian symbol in the middle ages (Five for the symbols at your door in the song "Green grow the rushes-o refers to it). Most / all modern pagan usage of it comes from the self-styled satanists who took and adapted many Christian symbols. They attempted to invoke the power of Christ to trap the devil when summoned by drawing the pentagram on the floor, hopefully trapping the devil inside. Certainly older religions than Christianity also used the pentagram, but that is not the route it came down to modern pagans. The early Christians adopted it as a secret sign when they were persecuted by the Romans, as they also adopted the fish. It was not a symbol in use for other religions that they knew about at the time and espeically not one of the Roman ones they were persecuted by. Many genuinely pagan festivals & symbols were indeed adopted by Christians (Yule, Yew, etc etc) but there has also been adoption in the other direction too (Pentagram, Holy Grail etc) My own position is that it does not really matter, God can be neither controlled nor offended by any symbol, it is the inward response to The Light that matters not the outward show. River~~ |
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River~~ Send message Joined: 15 Dec 05 Posts: 761 Credit: 285,578 RAC: 0 |
...definatly an intresting story though im glad you posted it and im sorry that people flamed you Absolutely. Whether the story be true or false, there is nothing harmful to it and no reason for others to get upset. River~~ |
Pphalan Send message Joined: 5 Nov 05 Posts: 53 Credit: 291,580 RAC: 0 |
River...you posted a piece of truth, the whole reason satanists will use the five pointed star as a symbol only upside down is its Christian origins. Also they use the cross upside down. The Swastika had other origins than Nazis, but the Nazis turned it on its corner. http://www.christianboards.org/forum.php http://usalug.org/phpBB2/index.php |
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Stephen R Homer Send message Joined: 3 Dec 05 Posts: 8 Credit: 12,281 RAC: 0 |
A little more about the swastika the four spokes represent the four levels of existence to the Jains. Generally, the swastika means good luck, health, and prosperity. It is often painted on the threshold of houses in India to ward off evil. The use of a clockwise spinning swastika has positive qualities. Hope this helps as with ALL symbols they have meanings good and bad and can if abused cause hurt I respect All religions and am open to information on any but as it has been said this should be moved to the religion thread. May I take one last moment and wish All a Joyful Holiday Season no matter what your beliefs maybe. [FONT=president]Click Please Thank You[/FONT]
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Fully Send message Joined: 10 Nov 05 Posts: 116 Credit: 665,389 RAC: 0 |
May I take one last moment and wish All a Joyful Holiday Season no matter what your beliefs maybe. Here, here Stephen! And the same to you good sir! If you cant say something nice, say something vague. And if you can't think of something vague, then shut the hell up! =) |
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Christmas Carol that has always baffled me...
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