First Day of Christmas

THE CONTROVERSY OVER THE SONG "THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS"

In the last 20 or so years, there has been quite a bit of controversy over the song The Twelve Days of Christmas. Some say it was a cryptic catechism song, used by the persecuted Catholics of England as a means to teach their children some rudimentary teachings of the Faith under the disguise of a seemingly harmless song. Others contest this, by saying that there is no evidence to back-up this claim and say that the alleged points of doctrine to be found hidden in the song, are ... (click here to read more)

"...A Partridge in a Pear Tree"

"IN THE BEGINNING..."
The first thing that strikes the mind on this "First Day of Christmas" is that this is the BEGINNING of the song. It reminds us of the first day of Creation, where God starts to create something out of nothing. That was the beginning of time, just as this first day is the beginning of the song. It reminds us of two passages of the Bible that speak of the beginning. Both concern God: one is God creating in the beginning; the other is the beginning of St. John's Gospel, where he uses the same words as are used to begin the Book of Genesis: "In the beginning..."

“In the beginning God created Heaven, and earth. And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God moved over the waters. And God said: ‘Be light made!’ And light was made. And God saw the light that it was good; and he divided the light from the darkness. And He called the light Day, and the darkness Night; and there was evening and morning: one day” (Genesis 1:1-5).

Jesus is the first-born, the only-begotten Son of God. Jesus is the Light that has come into the darkness of the world. St. John begins his Gospel with the same words as the Book of Genesis:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him: and without Him was made nothing that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it" (John 1:1-5).

LIGHT AND DARKNESS
This reference to God creating light to dawn and rise over the darkness, runs parallel to Christ being the light sent to dispel the darkness of sin in our world. “They eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of iniquity. But the path of the just, as a shining light, goeth forwards and increaseth even to perfect day. The way of the wicked is darksome: they know not where they fall” (Proverbs 4:17-19).

This is what Christmas lights should be all about: they should be a reflection of the Light that has come into the darkness or dark night of the world. But the beginning of this song should remind us of the the ONE God Who created out of nothing at the beginning of time; and it should remind us of the beginning of our redemption and salvation through God, in the Person of Jesus Christ, Who begins His life upon earth on the very first Christmas Day.

The prophecy of Isaias, that refers to the birth of Christ and the purpose of His coming, says: “Arise, be enlightened, O Jerusalem: for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For behold darkness shall cover the earth, and a mist the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall walk in Thy light, and kings in the brightness of Thy rising” (Isaias 60:1-3).

Jesus would later say of Himself: "I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me, walketh not in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12) ... “I am come a light into the world; that whosoever believeth in Me, may not remain in darkness" (John 12:46) ... “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5).

He will communicate His light to us, He will, in effect light our candle, so that we too can pass on that light to others. He says of His followers: “You are the light of the world. A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid” (Matthew 5:14), just like the bird, the partridge, which naturally prefers to remain on the ground, and not be seen in trees, so as to hide from predators. Yet in the song the partridge is in a pear tree, raised up on high and highly visible, like a city on mountain top, or candle perched on top of the candlestick, attracting attention by its light. There we have this idea of light coming back again.

TRUE LOVE
The “True Love” symbolizes God, Who is the only one who loves us truly and loves us the most. God is love itself:"God is charity" (1 John 4:8) and “God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting” (John 3:16). That is true love, to love the souls in the world despite their sins and to come to save those who were manifesting a hatred of God through their sins. Therefore, it is only natural that we should “truly” love Him in return, with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength.

THE NUMBER ONE
The number ONE is of immense significance. There are numerous things that it reminds us of:

► There is only ONE God
► There is only ONE true religion: the Catholic Faith
► There is only ONE Name through Whom we can be saved: Jesus Christ
► There is only ONE life in which to work out our salvation: no reincarnation, no second chance.
► There is ONE Whom we should love above all: God, with our whole mind, heart, soul and strength.

Of course, you will come up with many more examples using the number ONE. But, ultimately, God should be NUMBER ONE in our lives: “Seek ye therefore FIRST the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33).

THE PARTRIDGE
The “Partridge” symbolizes Our Lord Jesus Christ. A bird, in a sense, lives above the world, for it has wings to help it rise above the world. Jesus would say that He is not of this world, but of Heaven: “And he said to them: You are from beneath, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not of this world" (John 8:23). And He wants us to put our treasure in the things that are above and not in those things that are below:

“Lay not up to yourselves treasures on earth ... But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven ... For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also” (Matthew 6:19-21). “Therefore, if you be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above; where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the earth”(Collosians 3:1-2).

Yet, in a sense, the partridge is humble, preferring not to nest high up on the branches of the trees, but preferring to nest on the ground or the soil (humus is Latin for soil, from which has the root "hum-" that forms the root of our word "humility").

The “Partridge” symbolizes Our Lord Jesus Chris because the partridge is both a very fertile bird that produces many offspring, just as Christ continues to produce many offspring in His Mystical Body through conversion and Baptism.

The partridge also sacrifices itself for its offspring, acting as a decoy to hunters by pretending to be wounded and thus becoming a victim for the sake of its offspring. Similarly, Jesus was wounded, suffered and died for us, attracting the rage of the “hunter” (the devil) upon Himself.

THE PEAR TREE
The pear is native to coastal and mildly temperate regions of the Old World, from western Europe and north Africa east right across Asia. It is a medium-sized tree, reaching 30–45 feet tall, often with a tall, narrow crown; a few species are shrubby.

The leaves are alternately arranged, simple, 1–5 inches long, glossy green on some species, densely silvery-hairy in some others; leaf shape varies from broad oval to narrow lanceolate. Most pears are deciduous, but one or two species in southeast Asia are evergreen. Most are cold-hardy, withstanding temperatures between −25 °C and −40 °C in winter, except for the evergreen species, which only tolerate temperatures down to about −15 °C.

The flowers are white, rarely tinted yellow or pink, 1–3 inches in diameter, and have five petals.

THE SYMBOLISM OF THE PEAR TREE
The “Pear Tree” is also a Nordic symbol of Life and Immortality. Red-legged partridges seem to have a preference for sitting in pear trees, which is a symbol of the blood-stained Jesus being on the tree of the Cross. Through His Passion and Death, He earns for us the gifts of Eternal Life and Immortality.

The Pear Tree is among the first to bloom in the Spring, which is the time when Christ was in the full bloom of His life and bloomed in white innocence on the Tree of the Cross.

The white blooms of the Pear Tree symbolize the sinlessness that we should aim for in our lives; also the virtues we should cultivate in our lives and purity of intention with which we should practice those virtues. "So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father Who is in Heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

THE SYMBOLISM OF THE PEAR
Some authors hold the opinion that the forbidden fruit that Adam and Eve were forbidden from eating was in fact a pear. Potential forbidden fruits of the Garden of Eden include the apple, pomegranate, the fig, the carob, the etrog or citron, the pear, and the quince. Pears and apples cannot always be distinguished by the form of the fruit; some pears look very much like some apples. The apple, a pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, is also from the rose family (Rosaceae), that is to say the same family as the pear.

The pear is also a symbol of pregnancy, for when a woman is with child, it is said that she is "pear-shaped." By association, it can be said that the pear is also a symbol therefore of Our Lady, of whom it is said: "Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus!" For the pear is from the rose family (Rosaceae) and we call Our Lady the "Mystical Rose."

The English word “pear” is probably from Common West Germanic pera, probably from the Latin pira, which is of Semitic origin, In Aramaic (Our Lord’s tongue) it is “pirâ”, meaning “fruit”, from the verb “pra”, meaning “to beget, multiply, bear fruit.”

These are just a few thoughts, to which you could add many more by researching, reading and reflecting upon the component parts contained in this first of The Twelve Days of Christmas.