The Twelve Days of Christmas in Dept. 56 Dickens' Village

Dept. 56, Dickens' Village,
"12 Days of Dickens' Village Sign,'" #58467

I think I'm going to write a book.  It's going to be about the Twelve Days of Christmas and how my big cat Hemmingway stalks "what my true love gave to me," most particularly, "the partridge in a pear tree."  My book shall be listed, under non-fiction, in every card file, on every data base, in every reference book or site, both digital and paper.

My book shall be considered non-fiction because, regardless of what I decide to include in my story, I am quite sure I will find a source that supports the historicity of whatever I write.

Dept. 56, Dickens' Village,
"Twelve Drummers Drumming," #58387

Until I can write this book about Hemmingway's adventures, though, I must content myself with the fiction/non-ficiton of other delectable Christmas items, like the traditional song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas."  The internet certainly provides an incredible variety of theories about its history, numerous interpretations of what it means, and even an economic model based on the song, with a Christmas Price Index based on "market basket" of commodities sung about.  Whether any of this information is true is questionable.  Nonetheless, I have had a wonderful time exploring this chocolate box of 12-day trivia, and am going to share some of the delectable tidbits.   (By the way, were you lost with that chocolate box metaphor?  I was referring to Forrest Gump's line in the movie: "My mama always said 'life was like a box of chocolates.  you never know what you're gonna get."  Fear of creating reader confusion does not deter me.)

Dept. 56, Dickens' Village,
"Eleven Lords A-Leaping," #58413

First of all, though the Twelve Days of Christmas was first published in England in 1780, it may have actually been French in origin.  Did you know there is a Roud Folk Song Index, which is a database of over 21,600 songs in the English oral tradition?   Anyway, by some Googlian algorithm they try to compile and determine age, origin, derivation of folk songs.  It is complicated, and unless you really care, just accept the fact that the "Twelve Days of Christmas" is #68 of 21,600, which means the song is pretty darn old.

Dept. 56, Dickens' Village,
"Ten Pipers Piping," #58386

Some of the song's trivia is interesting:  For example, the phrase "...the partridge in a pear tree" may be wrong.  Some sources said the pear tree is actually 'perdrix," which is French for partridge and pronounced per-dree.  Therefore, the original line would have been "A partridge, une perdrix."  Or "A partridge, a partridge," which reminds me of a wonderful spot on my alma mater's campus, "Lake Lagunita" or "Lake Little Lagoon."  My high school sports team was the Buffalo Bison....I digress.

Dept. 56, Dickens' Village,
"Nine Ladies Dancing," #58385

According to Wikipedia, "In the west of France the (song) is known as..."La foi de la loi"...the sequence being:  A good stuffing without bones, two breasts of veal, three joints of beef, four pigs' trotters, five legs of mutton, six partridges with cabbage, seven spitted rabbits, eight plates of salad, nine dishes for a chapter of canons, ten full casks, eleven beautiful full-breasted maidens, and twelve musketeers with their swords."  Personally, I think this version is more interesting.

Dept. 56, Dickens' Village,
"Eight Maids-A-Milking," #58384

The Scottish version of "The Twelve Days of Christmas," includes such delightful items as three starlings, an Arabian baboon, and a parrot.

Dept. 56, Dickens' Village,
"Seven Swans-A-Swimming," # 58383

At Brown University a Latin Carol Service is held in December each year.  Sponsored by the Classics Department, the entire performance is in Latin, and includes a rendition of the Twelve Days of Christmas.  Wikipedia does not note if this concert is well-attended. This reminds of a play I attended once.  The play was written by a medieval abbess, Hildegard of Bingen, centuries ago. We were shocked, when we arrived, to find the large church was so full that there was standing room only.  This gave us great hope, though, that it was going to be an interesting production, and we leaned against a large stone pier....for two and a half hours of medieval Latin.... The only action in the play was this guy who came in occasionally and shook some chains.  Hic, haec, hoc.

Dept. 56, Dickens' Village,
"Six Geese A-Laying," #58382

In 1963 Allan Sherman recorded "The Twelve Days of Christmas," but in his version the gifts were tacky early1960 items, like the "Japanese transistor radio."  His version features only 11 gifts, however, since on the 12 day of Christmas, he decides to exchange all of the gifts for something else.  Here's the link if you want to hear this song again!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qoClBsZSTM

Dept. 56, Dickens' Village,
"Five Golden Rings," #58381

Now, about the "Five golden rings."  Women, delete this so your husband doesn't see it.  It is possible, but I don't believe it, that the gold rings refer not to jewelry, but to ring-necked chickens like the ring-necked pheasant, or possibly to "five goldspinks." (A goldspink is an old name for a goldfinch.)  Personally, I will "ring" (read: wring) the neck of any bird in my family who suggests this verse does not refer to gold rings.

Dept. 56, Dickens' Village,
"Four Calling Birds," # 58379

The "four calling birds" is also problematic.  While I don't care as much about calling birds as I do about gold rings, I will nonetheless mention it to you.  It isn't actually a  "calling bird."  It is a "colly" bird, which is another name for a blackbird.  A bird is a bird.  But if this is true, and if it is true that the golden rings refer to pheasants, etc., (which I refuse to believe,) then the first seven gifts are all birds.

Dept. 56, Dickens' Village,
"Three French Hens," 

In 1979 the Muppets and John Denver performed The Twelve Days of Christmas.  John Denver is a fine singer, but Miss Piggy steals the show.  Here is a link to the performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDBMzGq1vhs

Dept. 56, Dickens' Village,
"Two Turtle Doves," # 58360

Follow the Money....even at Christmas! A U.S. bank, PNC Financial Services, has developed an economic indicator, The Christmas Price Index, based on the values of the "market basket" of the 364 items listed throughout The Twelve Days of Christmas.  In 1984, the "True Cost of Christmas" was $61,318.94.  In 2010, the true cost had risen to $96,825.29.  I would liked to have known the value at market's end yesterday, when the Dow dropped almost 400 points. To read more about the Christmas Price Index, click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Price_Index

Dept. 56, Dickens' Village,
"A Partridge in a Pear Tree," #58351

Now, for one of the best performances of the Twelve Days of Christmas, click on this link!!  You will be soooo glad you did! It's Straight No Chaser, an a cappella men's group from Indiana University, with its complex, funny, elegant, and absolutely wonderful rendition of the "Twelve Days of Christmas" and much more.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8&feature=relmfu






THANKS TO WIKIPEDIA.COM FOR ALL THE "FACTUAL" INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS BLOG!