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The famous Christmas carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas, has been around since the 18th century. Symbolising the start of the most important event on the Christian calendar, it marks the date of the birth of Jesus Christ and other important events, such as the visit of the three wise men (the Magi). On the 25th December, the 12 days of Christmas officially begin. Although the song may seem a simple, light-hearted ditty about gift-giving, with the presents becoming significantly larger each day, there's an important religious message behind the lyrics. The 12 days of Christmas officially run until 6th January - known as the Epiphany or Three Kings' Day. We've all heard the superstition that it's "bad luck" for the year ahead if you don’t take your Christmas decorations down by this date, but the reason why? It has nothing to do with luck, but it does mark the end of an important religious ceremony. The Christmas period is preceded on the Christian calendar by Advent, beginning four Sundays before Christmas and ending on 24th December. In modern times, this period has become associated with advent calendars. The calendar will begin on 1st December, with children traditionally opening a "door" each day to discover a festive image and a sweet treat. Families also celebrate on the 26th December (Boxing Day) with a festive meal. This date marks the feast of St Stephen - the martyr of Jerusalem, who was stoned to death in AD 34. A Hellenistic Jew, he had been responsible for distributing welfare to impoverished widows but enraged the Jewish authorities by his teachings at the synagogue. Accused of blasphemy, he was sentenced to death after denouncing the authorities. He became known as the first martyr of Christianity. What are the song's origins? The Twelve Days of Christmas is sung by a person who has received a lot of gifts from their "true love" - one every day during the festive period. Each verse builds on the previous one, so it's sung time and time again, with the list of gifts getting longer each time. It is thought to have originated in France in the 1700s, when it was sung as a chant, without a musical accompaniment. It is believed to have come from a children's memory game, with the first person who forgets the verse (and the ever-increasing list of gifts) having to pay a forfeit. Nobody knows who wrote the song, although it features in the Roud Folk Song Index - a collection of around 250,000 old, traditional songs from around the world, compiled by former London librarian Steve Roud. The earliest English version appeared in 1780, when it was published in a book called Mirth Without Mischief. Set to music in 1909 by English composer Frederic Austin, who wrote the traditional tune that is still associated with the song today, his arrangement also introduced the prolonged verse with the words, "Five gold rings." Prior to Austin's version, all of the verses had been a continual chant, without any breaks. Although the pace of the chant has remained much the same, the lyrics have changed many times since the first English version in 1780. How did the lyrics change? The song begins with the words, "On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me," and then adds a different gift for each of the 12 days. The first gift, a partridge in a pear tree, has remained pretty much the same over the years, as has the second gift, two turtle doves, and the third gift, three French hens. However, when it comes to day four, there have been a lot of interpretations of the gift, with the original lyrics describing four "colly" birds. While there's no such species, the word "colly" is an old English colloquial term for "black", so it has been suggested the original species was the blackbird. In later versions of the song, they became "calling" birds, although over the years, published versions of the lyrics have also described them as canary birds, ducks a-quacking, coloured birds and even collie birds, as in the breed of dog! The gift of "five gold rings" has remained constant, as has the six "geese a-laying", although they became ducks briefly in 1867! Seven "swans a-swimming" has also remained much the same since 1780, except in 1900, when they temporarily became "squabs" - the term for baby pigeons. There have been numerous suggestions for day eight, including "ladies dancing", "maids a-milking" and hares or hounds "a-running". The gift on the ninth day has included "drummers drumming" (the most common interpretation) and also "lords a-leaping", "pipers playing" and "bulls a-roaring". Day ten also suggests "pipers piping", but some versions change it to "ships a-sailing" and even "fifers fifing" in 1858, the fife being a small musical instrument similar to a piccolo. The gifts on day 11 include "ladies dancing", "ladies spinning" and even "badgers baiting" (an odd suggestion for a Christmas present!) in 1867. The lyrics for day 12 include "bells ringing", "lords a-leaping", "fiddlers fiddling" and "ladies dancing", all of which would have made quite elaborate gifts from anyone's true love! Do the lyrics have hidden meanings? A popular theory on the internet suggests that the lyrics are a coded reference to various facets of the Christian faith, originating in an era when Christians were persecuted. The theory suggested the three French hens were the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity, the four calling birds were the four gospels and the five gold rings were the first five books of the Old Testament. Other suggestions were that the ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments and the 11 pipers piping represented the 11 faithful disciples. The partridge in the pear tree was said to represent Jesus Christ. However, critics of this theory say it makes little sense, since the gifts detailed in the lyrics have nothing at all to do with their Christian equivalents, so would have been useless as a way of remembering the items of faith. Secondly, the critics said that if the Christians were persecuted to such a degree that they couldn't practice their faith, they wouldn't be celebrating Christmas – so they would hardly be able to sing a carol! Historian William Studwell even wrote a study on the carol for the Northern Illinois University and claimed Christians in the 18th century weren't particularly persecuted, so it wouldn't have been necessary to keep their teachings secret. Regardless of the true origins of The Twelve Days of Christmas, the song recognises the importance of giving at Christmas. This doesn't mean expensive gifts, it means practicing the spirit of giving. People should never lose sight of the religious roots of Christmas. As we look forward to the festive season, Griggs is celebrating the occasion with the launch of our Twelve Days of Christmas Advent Calendar event, which will be on both our website and our social media pages. Over the 12 days, we will reveal goodies such as a discount codes and other festive treats. On the 12 days of Christmas, what will Griggs give to you? Watch this space!