Most people think they know the song. You've heard it a thousand times in grocery stores while trying to find the last bag of cranberries. But the actual 12 days of Christmas words are weird. Honestly, they’re borderline nonsensical if you don't know the history. We're talking about a gift list that includes 184 birds.
That is a lot of poop.
Despite what the radio play suggests, the "12 days" don't even start until December 25th. It's not a countdown to Christmas; it’s the celebration of Christmas. If you grew up thinking it ended on the 25th, you're basically missing the whole party. The period starts on the birth of Jesus and runs until Epiphany on January 6th. This timeframe is known as Christmastide.
The Mystery of the Five Golden Rings
If you look at the 12 days of Christmas words, the fifth day always feels like a weird pivot. Why suddenly jump from birds to expensive jewelry? Well, there is a very strong chance you’ve been imagining a Tiffany box when you should have been imagining a bird's nest.
Many ornithologists and historians, like those at the Oxford English Dictionary, suggest that "five golden rings" actually refers to ring-necked pheasants. It fits the pattern. Look at the first four days: partridge, doves, hens, calling birds. It’s all poultry. Then day six goes right back to geese. Inserting jewelry into the middle of a bird-buying spree makes zero sense. The "gold rings" were likely the yellow circles around a pheasant’s eyes.
Imagine giving your true love actual rings. Then, the next day, you hand them six geese. It's an awkward transition.
🔗 Read more: Marie Kondo The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up: What Most People Get Wrong
However, the "catechism" theory is another popular one you'll see floating around the internet. People love to claim the song was a secret code for persecuted Catholics in England. In this version, the two turtle doves are the Old and New Testaments. The four calling birds are the Gospels. It’s a compelling story. It really is. But most historians, including William Studwell, a renowned Christmas carol expert, found no evidence to support this. It’s basically an urban legend that started in the late 20th century. The song is just a "memory-and-forfeit" game. You sing a verse, I sing a verse, and if you forget a word, you owe me a drink or a kiss.
Deciphering the Calling Birds and Colly Birds
Ever wondered what a "calling bird" is? If you look at the 12 days of Christmas words in older versions of the song—specifically from the 1780 book Mirth Without Mischief—you won't find any calling birds.
The original lyric was "four colly birds."
"Colly" is old English slang for "black as coal." So, the singer was originally gifting four blackbirds. Over time, as the word "colly" fell out of common usage, people misheard it. It's the 18th-century version of "scuse me while I kiss this guy." By the time Frederic Austin published the famous 1909 arrangement—which is the version we all sing today—the "calling birds" were locked in.
He’s also the guy who decided we should hold the note on "five go-old riiiings." Before 1909, the rhythm was much faster and more repetitive.
💡 You might also like: Why Transparent Plus Size Models Are Changing How We Actually Shop
Why so many French hens?
The three French hens aren't just a random fancy bird choice. Back in the day, especially in the 16th and 17th centuries, French poultry was the gold standard for fine dining. Specifically, the Crevecoeur or La Fleche breeds were highly prized. Gifting these was a massive flex. It showed you had the connections and the coin to import luxury livestock.
The Social Class of the Final Days
Once you get past the birds, the 12 days of Christmas words shift toward people. This is where the song gets loud. And expensive.
- Six Geese a-Laying: More food. Geese were the standard Christmas meal for commoners before turkeys took over.
- Seven Swans a-Swimming: In England, the monarch technically owns all unmarked mute swans. Giving someone seven swans was essentially saying, "I am incredibly well-connected with the aristocracy."
- Eight Maids a-Milking: This is the only mention of "low-class" labor in the song. Milking was a tough, messy job.
- Nine Ladies Dancing: We're back to high society. These aren't just "women"; they are ladies of the court.
- Ten Lords a-Leaping: This refers to high-ranking men performing "morris dancing" or other athletic courtly displays.
- Eleven Pipers Piping: Instrumentalists for the party.
- Twelve Drummers Drumming: The grand finale.
If you actually tried to buy all this today, it would cost a fortune. The PNC Christmas Price Index tracks this every year. In 2023, the total cost for all 364 items (the cumulative total of all gifts mentioned throughout the repetitions) was over $200,000. The swans are consistently the most expensive part of the list. They are finicky, aggressive, and require a lot of space.
The True Meaning of the Partridge
The partridge in a pear tree is the anchor. It’s the first and last thing you hear.
Curiously, partridges are ground-nesting birds. They don't hang out in trees. So why the pear tree? Some suggest it’s a corruption of the French word for partridge, perdrix, pronounced "per-dree." If you say "une perdrix" fast enough, it sounds a lot like "and a pear tree." It's likely a linguistic fluke that stuck because it created a nice mental image.
📖 Related: Weather Forecast Calumet MI: What Most People Get Wrong About Keweenaw Winters
It’s also worth noting that the "true love" in the song isn't necessarily a romantic partner. In the context of the 16th century, "True Love" was often used to refer to God, and the "me" was the church. But again, that takes us back into the territory of religious symbolism that most secular historians find a bit shaky.
Practical Insights for the Modern Holiday
If you’re going to use the 12 days of Christmas words for a gift exchange or a theme, don't buy 184 birds. Nobody wants that.
Instead, look at the themes. The first five days are about "provisions" (food and ornaments). The next two are about "status" (luxury birds). The final five are about "entertainment" (dancers and musicians).
If you want to be factually accurate this year:
- Start your celebrations on December 25th, not December 1st.
- The "Twelfth Night" is January 5th. This is traditionally when you should take your decorations down. In some cultures, leaving them up past this date is considered bad luck.
- If you’re singing the song, try swapping "calling birds" back to "colly birds" to see if anyone notices. You’ll sound like a genius or a weirdo. Probably both.
The song survived because it was a game. It was meant to be a test of memory during long, dark winter nights when there was nothing else to do but sit by a fire and drink mulled cider. It’s a chaotic, expensive, avian-heavy list that makes no sense in the modern world, and that’s exactly why we still love it.
What to do next
If you're planning a "12 Days" style event, focus on the "Twelfth Night" party. Historically, this was a massive feast involving a "King Cake" or "Twelfth Cake." Whoever found the bean or pea hidden in the cake became the "Lord of Misrule" for the evening. It’s a much more fun way to end the season than just dragging a dry tree to the curb. Check your local bakery for King Cakes starting in late December; they are usually easier to find than 12 actual drummers.