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The version I learned in Hawai‘i goes like: 12 Televisions 11 Missionaries 10 cans of soda 9 pounds of poi 8 ukulele’s 7 shrimps of swimming 6 hula lessons 5 big fat pigs 4 flower leis 3(tree) dry aku(fish) or squid 2 coconuts & 1 mynah bird in 1 papaya tree. Lol
My father use to say my mother was the only one who'd want all these birds. Because she loved them, & started breeding, & selling birds. My father did say he wished he'd see this many birds while hunting. 😁
I'm really relieved to see that you trade marked the whole messed up origins name. That's awesome. I'm telling you I am so proud of how much your channel has grown since I've been a viewer. And I've been a viewer for a few years now.
January 6th, The Feast of the Epiphany, is also the beginning of the Mardi Gras season, which ends at midnight on Fat Tuesday. The Lenten season begins Ash Wednesday. January 5th is Twelfth Night and also a big deal. Roman Catholics know how to party.
honestly as a memory game it might be fun, and it is honestly the theory that makes the most sense to me. Also the Phineas and Ferb parody is top tier.
I just finished your Origin of Christmas Carol video from a year ago and you said "my girlfriend" and now you said "my wife" and I think that's very sweet .
Long ago in Sweden there was a thing called "parish catechetical interrogation". The congregation gathered and the priest held an examination of sorts. You were obligated to know some parts of the bible and history of Jesus. If you failed you were of course shamed in front of everybody, but also put in the pillory outside the church on a Sunday for the congregation to spit at. The 12 days of Christmas-type of songs were therefore common. Repetitive songs about different biblical events and figures to help you remember. Often very rhythmic so they were easy to work along. Usually one person sang the new entry and the others joined in to repeat the rest. I love you content. Hope you'll have a wonderful Christmas. Please excuse any fault in grammar and/or spelling.
"Please excuse my fault in grammar." Proceeds to knock it out of the park😅. Reminds me of that one friend is genuinely worried about failing a test but always aces. Thank you for this interesting fact
I love being Catholic, because our Christmas season is way longer then just Christmas Day. And I’ve heard the theory about it being a secret code for learning the core teachings of the faith. Hard to say for sure obviously
Exactly on the Christmas season doesn't stop Christmas Day. Me and my family are Catholic and we keep our Christmas tree up all the way to Epiphany before taking it down.
I learned a little about the persecution of religion in England....but just a little. One of my ancestors was executed in the late 1500s by queen Mary. It was bad enough that the family moved to Northern Ireland to get away from the persecutions.
@@2degucitas I don't personally know her, but I imagine she doesn't need your condolences. That's quite a few births away and she likely isn't losing sleep..
@@BoringDad88 my grandmother did a lot of research (surprisingly without a computer). We can't trace it completely back that far. The actual history starts several generations later, but is somewhat of a legend in the family.
Here's a theory: It's based on the build up to a wedding day between a crowned prince & a princess. Or perhaps a dowry from a rich merchant marrying his daughter off into another wealthy merchant family. Perhaps some local poet or minstrel made note of gifts arriving over the period of 12 days prior to christmas. Before cars, stuff didn't all arrive at the same time. & the stuff that arrived was all entertainment for the wedding & a few parting gifts for the parents. Think of the parade scene from Aladdin.
Here in New Orleans, Jan 5th is known as Kings day which marks the end of Christmasing (yep, those 12 days) & the beginning of Mardi Gras Season. King Cakes go on sale & the colors all over town change from red & green to purple, gold & green.
Thank you for bringing up all the different threads of the possible history of this song. Most others, seem to focus on only a few. I did know it probably started as a game. Another theory: One days after a lot of study on English Noble families, and then 12 days being played in the background, I was struck at how much this sounded like building a noble household. It is not perfect, but it is better than the Catholic secret code. During the betrothal process, multiple rings were given (5 gold rings). French hens use to be prized for the home (3 french hens). Geese eggs were wanted (6 geese a laying), Swans were lovely to have in the lake on your estate (7 swans a swimming). Milking in a country estate is important as food, but also as income (8 maids a milking). Partridge with pears is a welcome dish in the fall and winter (partridge in a pear tree). Having servants at the ready is also good (9 ladies dancing, 10 lords a leaping). As for the pipers and drummers, they almost always come in handy for any celebrations. The turtle doves, and calling birds, as pets is the only way I could fit them in. It is not perfect, but it does work as a promise to build a good household in the 16th and 17th centuries England.
Reminds me of another song, "there was a bird in an egg, an egg in a nest, the nest on a branch, the branch on a tree, the tree in a hole, the whole in the ground, and the green grass grows all around, and around, and the green grass grows all around" 🎶 Its singing a song one step forward, and then all steps back😊
I think I'm with ya on the Twelve Pains of Christmas. It was funny as a kid and even funnier as an adult who has to deal with all that shit. I also vaguely remember this holiday special I saw years ago on this song. It was animated, and the villain tries to impress the princess by getting her entire Christmas list. Only his hapless minion grabs the king's crossword puzzle answers on accident so when he comes by with his master's gifts every day the king lets it go since he is answering his crossword. Don't remember what it was called, but the story just stuck in my head it seems.
Love the song "The 12 Pains of Christmas"! Used to have it on cassette with a bunch of others like it. A few were - "The Restroom Sign Said Gentleman", "Wreck the Malls" and Porky Pig singing "Blue Christmas". I miss that tape!☹️
As a devoted Catholic thank you for covering the Catholic Christmas season. Some Catholic subcultures fast but Irish American Catholics like me celebrate and enjoy the Advent and Christmas seasons
There is not just one day of Christmas, traditionally, prior to the biggest party pooper on the face of the planet, Oliver Cromwell, Christmas was indeed celebrated for 12 days. It was a time of feasing and merriment, with all sorts of shennanigans. The Yule log was not the tacky chocolate confection we know today, it was a large log which would be brought into the hall on Christmas eve and would hopefully burn for the whole 12 days, if it did, it would bode well for the home.
Not sure if this was already mentioned, but the colly birds weren't the only ones changed or mistranslated. The line "five golden rings", according to a radio spot narrated by Manheim Steamroller's Chip Davis, actually refused to five ring-necked pheasants. So, there were originally 28 birds mentioned by verse 7.
I never knew it was originally a memory game. Sounds like it would be fun, but I know I'd lose. One of my favorite versions is by Bob and Doug MacKenzie, where the first day is a beer...in a tree, the Redneck 12 Days of Christmas by Jeff Foxworthy, and the 12 Gifts of Christmas by Allan Sherman. Sherman's version lists off crappy gifts that he ends up returning, like a calendar book with the name of his insurance man, simulated alligator wallet, and a statue of a lady with a clock, where her stomach ought to be.
@@Tuesona Maybe Luckey was inspired by Sherman for that. Sherman's song was released in 1963, and Sesame Street premiered in 1969. The "Alligator King" segment first aired in 1971.
@@Tuesona Allan Sherman was a comedian singer/songwriter who often wrote parodies of existing songs. Sort of like an early "Weird Al" Yankovic. Sherman wrote songs sung to various classical pieces, and parodies of popular songs of the era. He was mainly active in the 1950s and 1960s. One of his most well-known songs is "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah (Letter from Camp Grenada)", sung to the tune of Ponchielli's "Dance of the Hours". It was all about how life at camp was miserable, like how campers were going missing, some coming down with food poisoning or other ailments, and how the weather was miserable, but then it clears up and the kids are out doing cool stuff. It was used in an episode of "The Simpsons" when Bart was caught shoplifting a video game. He switched out the tape that had a message from the store's security guard with a tape containing the song. When Homer plays it on the machine, he asks Marge if Lisa was at Camp Grenada. There was also a commercial for a topical medication for dogs that used the song, featuring a puppy singing about how fleas, ticks, and mosquitos were bothering him at camp, and thanking them for sending the topical medication. Other parodies he did included one to Petula Clark's "Downtown", called "Crazy Downtown", told from the point of view of a parent who was frustrated with his disrespectful teenage kids, "Harvey and Sheila", sung to the tune of the Jewish traditional song "Hava Nagila", talking about the life of a married couple, "Sarah Jackman", to the tune of "Frere Jacques"/"Where is Thumbkin", where a guy asks Sarah how she is and how members of her family are, and she responds with rhyming responses, and a parody of "Chim-Chim-Cher-ee" from "Mary Poppins", talking about commercials and mascots.
I researched this song online some years ago and found an article which said the song is of French origin, both lyrics and tune, and dates from the 18th century. The birds are ones that would be consumed by wealthy people at Christmas, the lords and ladies are festive season partygoers, dancing to the accompaniment of the musicians. The iconic first verse is a hybrid French / English pun - the French word for partridge is “perdrix”, pronounced “perr dree” which sounds like “pear tree”. That’s all there is to it, quite banal really 🤷🏻♀️
I always hated this song as a child. It was tedious and annoying. And now, thanks to many re-inventions and parodies, it's one of my favorites. Straight No Chaser's amazing mashup with "Africa," Reliant K screaming "What's a partridge? What's a pear tree? I don't know, so please don't ask me!" And of course Matthew Ebel and his "Twelve Days of Christmas in Space," because everything is better with robots.
The 12 Pains Of Christmas, I remember that song. It was hilarious, especially the "Rigging up these lights" part. He was such a mood🤣🤣🤣 (For people that aren't familiar, its by Bob Rivers)
@@2degucitas I had to look it myself, A colly bird is just another name for the European Blackbird, even though it really is a thrush. But no matter what kind of bird it is, it's still a lousy Christmas gift to receive from your true love
My mind is reeling right now because, growing up in a very catholic area and going to catholic schools my entire childhood, I was always taught there were 12 apostles and that number just stuck despite certain context pointing to 11. It’s all so wild.
Twelve pack a bud Elevin wrastlin' tickets Ten acopenhagen Nine years probation Eight table dancers Seven packs of redman Six cans of spam Five flanel shirts Four big mud tires Three shot gun shells Two huntin' dogs And some parts to a Mustange G.T
I knew the list. Some favorite versions : the 12 Pains, the 12 Gifts, and the Hawaiian version also the Muppet version is lots of fun and If you ever look in to it the stories behind some of the Catholic Saints could be interesting. Saint Frances Saint Clare of Assisi Saint Juan Diego Saint George Saint Kateri Tekakwitha - Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe Saint Nicholas Saint Patrik Saint Peter Saint Joseph Saint Michel Saint Vincent De Paul Saint Bernard of Clairvaux Saint Columba Saint Lucy There are some to start off with as I find there stories to be interesting and some of them are highly popular even among people who don't know Saints The Story behind "Sighet Knight" is also interesting as is the Christmas truce of 1914 The Christmas Candle is a Christmas novel written by Max Lucado the legend of the nisse Tradition of placing wooden shoes full of carrots The strange legend of the Swedish Yule goat The origins of the swedish horse Yes Virginia Emmet Otter Twas the Night Before Christmas and The Christmas pinata These are the things I value around my house every year, so it would be nice to share them
Technically Christmas and Yule were once on the same day. Under the Julian Calendar system the solstice was Dec25, when the Gregorian Calendar system came out, the day of the solstice change but the Christmas date stayed the same. Yule however, stayed on the solstice under a different calendar system.
Many years ago, Nieman Marcus (a high-end department store) had one spectacular gift each year. One year, the special was the 12 days of Christmas. I remember laughing,! “The nobility may be a bit impoverished lately, but if you don’t mind substituting lads from a local dance school for the lords a leaping…”
Sorry I've got my woosh a little too late, just now: makes sense as Janus is the god of passages and movement, and January is the month that sign the passage to the New Year... Also the two-faces are meant to face forward and backward at the same time, warding both entrances and exits... Of places... And ages?
And here I thought that the origins of the12 Days of Christmas was that some knight wanted to marry a princess and to impress her, he tried to steal her Christmas list. Only he ended up with crossword puzzle answers. And got his servant to actually ger those things for her. And the princess was allergic to feathers
Great vid Jon, I really want to know about the 12 pains now lol. I remember in school one of my teachers had my class sing this song as a memory game; it was kind of a pain. Also, I have to say I do like the idea of the 12 items being connected to 12 different concepts from religion/the bible, but that stems from my spiritual background. I can see how the song may have little or nothing to directly do with such things.
THANK YOU for explaining that here are 12 DAYS between Christmas and jan 6th Epiphany. Growing up Catholic, I NEVER returned to school until AFTER Jan. 6th. Now, everyone returns to work & school Jan. 2nd making the Christmas holiday shorter... not to mention making the whole thing sacrilegious.
I like how you slipped the "Yule Goat" in between yule log and caroling, like we're supposed to go "yeah, the traditional yule goat". So wtf is a yule goat.
True, but they did have issues with Catholics passing the Faith along to their children, even though there are things that protestants agree with. Even now, in an age with so much access to information, and the constant fight against misinformation, people still spread lies about Catholicism, just parroting what they've been told instead of actually doing research. I could imagine that back then, protestants didn't think that Catholics believed in some or any of these common teachings, and Catholics were banned from teaching their children the Faith anyway, regardless of some commonalities, so since those shared beliefs are still part of Catholic teaching they were put into a code along with everything else. Or maybe the code has been changed so much, it's now said to be beliefs that are shared with protestants but it originally wasn't. 🤷♀️
its just a mnemonic for Xtian doctrine (both catholic and protestant have the same basics) since this doesnt mention anything expressly catholic? like saints or the virgin mary? its just as likely to be a sunday school song for the protestant
It's very interesting that you said that the "two turtle doves" represented the bible testiments. I've always wondered if they had anything to do with the lines in Leviticus where it says that women should sacrifice two doves or two turtles during their menstruation. I know periods and Christmas aren't related, but hey, it was just a thought! 😂
From English Heritage site " it was actually ‘good Queen Charlotte’, the German wife of George III, who set up the first known tree at Queen’s Lodge, Windsor, in December 1800." Interesting that this first English Christmas tree coincides with the first known publication of this song.
This was such a good idea. Its a song I think we have all wondered about once or twice before. I think the theory about the song being a code is such a stretch. You can find any way to match numbers from the bible to any song that has numbers involved. I could say the 12 drummers represented the 12 labors of Heracles.
That's kind of a point in the code theory's favor, though: codes are supposed to only be understood by your allies, not your enemies. If a Catholic met another Catholic, they'd understand that these are Bible references, but since protestants banned Catholics from teaching the Faith, protestants were supposed to think that it's about anything else. Labors of Hercules, a honey-do list, whatever. Ironic and just plain stupid, considering that the Bible existed long before people started inventing the various protestant groups in the 1500s.
I also love the 12 Pains of Christmas. However, you should definitely check out the 12 Days of Christmas by Alan Sherman. Number 1 in a Japanese transistor radio!
My favorite variant of the song is "The Eight Days After Christmas". I learned it when I was in high school. We sang it in choir class. I haven't heard it since, but I enjoyed it so much that I memorized it and have performed it solo on several occasions.
Italy has a list of religious stuff, but listed out explicitly. One is the child in the cradle, two the donkey and the ox (by the manger Jesus was in), three the three kings orient, four the evengelists, five "five precepts" (not sure which), and I've forgotten the rest. Ten may have been the commandments.
Wait, Italian here: we never sang this song in school and such (went to Catholic school too). Probably back then wasn't in fashion? I know that plenty songs have literal and modern translations (Jingle Bells or Silent Night) single parishes like to "translate" songs and melodies from other languages and culture so this one might as well, but usually instead of "12 days of Christmas" we used to sing "Alla fiera dell'Est" and it's a memory game from... Jewish folklore? It doesn't have any religious or festive meaning though, more of a "Butterfly Effect" vibe.
No, I didn't know it was a memory game either. I was raised Catholic, and in school, we were taught the "secret code" theory, except we were taught what they all meant, either. I DID figure out that the partridge was Jesus, though. Big brain.
I honestly don’t understand that idea. It isn’t like Protestant Christians don’t believe in the Bible. All of those things listed are taught about at any church.
@@joyfulchristina True, but either the real code has been changed and forgotten over time, or like now, protestants don't know what Catholicism actually teaches, so when Catholic catechism was illegal, that would include the beliefs that are common between Catholics and protestants (since protestants may not have even known that they had these things in common), which would've been put into a code along with everything else.
It's heartbreaking how catechesis has been so watered down. Just like secular education, there's only memorization of rules, without explanation of why or how these things are believed.
@@tgbluewolf, at least for religion, things are left unexplained for two reasons: firstly, to retain the divide between the priests/pastors and the sheep, and, secondly, because, if they WERE explained, your average child of six could poke holes in the stories with ease.
There was a time when some people celebrated Jan 6th as Xmas Day. It took a while to get everyone on the same page regarding what dates Easter & Xmas fell on since not everyone was using the same dating/calculating system (or even the same gospels) for establishing "the rules." It all evolved & coalesced over time as Christianity grew in the Greco-Roman world & spread.
i think the orthodox church still celebrates christmas on the 6th. idk if spain still does it nowadays, but they used to celebrate the birth of jesus on the 25th but only exchange presents on the 6th
I would love to see the rest of Jon's "Krismass" list. Maybe a dictionary or a book of grammar rules should be on it! 😂🤣 Merry Christmas and happy holidays of 2021, Solo Fam! 🎄🎁🕎💚🖤💖🎉
Actually the theory that I most often heard before was it was a list of the Christmas presents Henry the 8th gave to his different wives over the time he was married to them
In Dutch 🇧🇪 there is a song where we do sing about the things listed from Christianity. But not disguised as random gifts. I never linked the two songs because the ritme is totally different but it is similar in the way that it also repeats the previous items. i thought that they maybe took inspiration from this song to give the random gifts meaning. the items in the song are: one God Two stone tablets of Moses tree patriarchs four evangelists five virgins six bottles of water turned in to wine seven Sacraments eight wonders of life nine choirs of angels Ten Commandments Eleven Thousand virgins in heaven
Jews have a similar memory game song, "Echad Mi Yodea" (Who Knows One?) we sing on Passover with these items: 1 God 2 Tablets 3 Patriarchs 4 Matriarchs 5 Books of the Torah 6 orders of the Mishnah (Talmud) 7th day Sabbath 8th day of circumcision 9 months till a baby's born 10 Commandments 11 stars on Joseph's Dream 12 Tribes of Israel. There are versions on UA-cam on both Hebrew and English
My dear and beloved Jon Solo, I never questioned the song. I just sang it in my youth. I do enjoy your channel because of all I can learn outside of my fields of study. It is nice to hear you now have a research staff to help you get this information. I like the summaries; otherwise I would have to continue missing this entertaining information. Medical information keeps me busy and you know how that keeps changing. So I will continue to follow your efforts as I can. Most often I am late to the party but I do get here.
5th of December is start of youletide. The Christmas stuff was changed up here an there for their religion and holidays to suit the pagans they were converting or slaughtering if they did convert to this new peaceful religion. Books removed an translations were rough to suit the rulers at the time. Don’t even know when Jesus birthday actually was for them to state it on a current era calandra. But those dates we set already a bit different but accurate to date time frames now days except the year is different. Runic era calendars were what was roughly used with the seasons and cycles of the moon to know days dates and times of year
Serbian Christmas is 12/13 days (depending on how you start your counting) that is from Christmas to the following days, so since my mom and I are american and Serbian we sort of just use it as an excuse for late gift giving lol
I won a door decorating contest in college using the Twelve Days of Christmas. Used tissue paper and construction paper. That was ages ago in the late seventies. Good times. 💕🐝🇺🇸
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Favorite UA-camr
i bet you the finale messed up origin is on Santa claus
Lol that painting is from Goodfellas movie??
Det wildsvans
Just signed up …. 🤞🏽
This is great! We should have a whole series about the messed up origins of our favorite Christmas carols
That would be really interesting
He sees you when you're sleeping
And he knows when you're awake
He knows when you've been bad or good
@@Nazoto So be good for goodness sake. 🎅
The version I learned in Hawai‘i goes like:
12 Televisions
11 Missionaries
10 cans of soda
9 pounds of poi
8 ukulele’s
7 shrimps of swimming
6 hula lessons
5 big fat pigs
4 flower leis
3(tree) dry aku(fish) or squid
2 coconuts
& 1 mynah bird in 1 papaya tree.
Lol
❤
mahalo
Five golden toque!
Four pounds of back bacon
Three French toast
Two turtlenecks
And a beer in a tree
I feel like it would make sense that this song was originally a memory game. He was actually one of my favorite Christmas songs as a child
My father use to say my mother was the only one who'd want all these birds. Because she loved them, & started breeding, & selling birds. My father did say he wished he'd see this many birds while hunting. 😁
I'm really relieved to see that you trade marked the whole messed up origins name. That's awesome. I'm telling you I am so proud of how much your channel has grown since I've been a viewer. And I've been a viewer for a few years now.
January 6th, The Feast of the Epiphany, is also the beginning of the Mardi Gras season, which ends at midnight on Fat Tuesday. The Lenten season begins Ash Wednesday. January 5th is Twelfth Night and also a big deal. Roman Catholics know how to party.
Thank you for posting this. I was hoping someone would mention this. I keep an eye out for the Phunny Phorty Phellows!
Happy Three Kings!...I never liked Christmas season ending on New Years...when I came to understand the 12 days it was jubilation...
And if you really want to party. You can have 40 days.of Christmas and have Carnival at the same time because Candlemas!
Roman catholics are all assholes. Except me, I'm okay. Rest of us are judgemental snobs though, bugs me
YES!!! Bob Rivers' "12 Pains of Christmas" is the best version, followed closely by HISHE Villains Pub's cover.
honestly as a memory game it might be fun, and it is honestly the theory that makes the most sense to me.
Also the Phineas and Ferb parody is top tier.
I just finished your Origin of Christmas Carol video from a year ago and you said "my girlfriend" and now you said "my wife" and I think that's very sweet .
Finally I am early for one of these great uploads, your the whole reason I love learning about old nursery rhymes and mythology.
Long ago in Sweden there was a thing called "parish catechetical interrogation". The congregation gathered and the priest held an examination of sorts. You were obligated to know some parts of the bible and history of Jesus. If you failed you were of course shamed in front of everybody, but also put in the pillory outside the church on a Sunday for the congregation to spit at. The 12 days of Christmas-type of songs were therefore common. Repetitive songs about different biblical events and figures to help you remember. Often very rhythmic so they were easy to work along. Usually one person sang the new entry and the others joined in to repeat the rest.
I love you content. Hope you'll have a wonderful Christmas. Please excuse any fault in grammar and/or spelling.
English as a second language, you did well. TY for this Swedish informative history.
@@barbarahouk1983 Thanks 😊
Put in the pillory and spat at. So thankful my Lutheran catechism didn't include that!
"Please excuse my fault in grammar." Proceeds to knock it out of the park😅. Reminds me of that one friend is genuinely worried about failing a test but always aces.
Thank you for this interesting fact
@@escay8434 Thanks 😊
I love being Catholic, because our Christmas season is way longer then just Christmas Day. And I’ve heard the theory about it being a secret code for learning the core teachings of the faith. Hard to say for sure obviously
Exactly on the Christmas season doesn't stop Christmas Day. Me and my family are Catholic and we keep our Christmas tree up all the way to Epiphany before taking it down.
But, the lyrics were changed so the code would have been messed up.
I learned a little about the persecution of religion in England....but just a little. One of my ancestors was executed in the late 1500s by queen Mary. It was bad enough that the family moved to Northern Ireland to get away from the persecutions.
Dang! She really was a bitch! My condolences.
@@2degucitas no kidding, all he did was practice his protestant faith during her reign when she was catholic.
That's awesome that you can trace it back that far!
@@2degucitas I don't personally know her, but I imagine she doesn't need your condolences. That's quite a few births away and she likely isn't losing sleep..
@@BoringDad88 my grandmother did a lot of research (surprisingly without a computer). We can't trace it completely back that far. The actual history starts several generations later, but is somewhat of a legend in the family.
Here's a theory: It's based on the build up to a wedding day between a crowned prince & a princess. Or perhaps a dowry from a rich merchant marrying his daughter off into another wealthy merchant family. Perhaps some local poet or minstrel made note of gifts arriving over the period of 12 days prior to christmas.
Before cars, stuff didn't all arrive at the same time. & the stuff that arrived was all entertainment for the wedding & a few parting gifts for the parents. Think of the parade scene from Aladdin.
Here in New Orleans, Jan 5th is known as Kings day which marks the end of Christmasing (yep, those 12 days) & the beginning of Mardi Gras Season. King Cakes go on sale & the colors all over town change from red & green to purple, gold & green.
Thank you for bringing up all the different threads of the possible history of this song. Most others, seem to focus on only a few. I did know it probably started as a game. Another theory: One days after a lot of study on English Noble families, and then 12 days being played in the background, I was struck at how much this sounded like building a noble household. It is not perfect, but it is better than the Catholic secret code. During the betrothal process, multiple rings were given (5 gold rings). French hens use to be prized for the home (3 french hens). Geese eggs were wanted (6 geese a laying), Swans were lovely to have in the lake on your estate (7 swans a swimming). Milking in a country estate is important as food, but also as income (8 maids a milking). Partridge with pears is a welcome dish in the fall and winter (partridge in a pear tree). Having servants at the ready is also good (9 ladies dancing, 10 lords a leaping). As for the pipers and drummers, they almost always come in handy for any celebrations. The turtle doves, and calling birds, as pets is the only way I could fit them in. It is not perfect, but it does work as a promise to build a good household in the 16th and 17th centuries England.
This seems like the most logical theory!
It could be both: since people would've been familiar with building a household, the routine could've been used as a code when persecutions started.
Reminds me of another song,
"there was a bird in an egg, an egg in a nest, the nest on a branch, the branch on a tree, the tree in a hole, the whole in the ground, and the green grass grows all around, and around, and the green grass grows all around" 🎶
Its singing a song one step forward, and then all steps back😊
I think I'm with ya on the Twelve Pains of Christmas. It was funny as a kid and even funnier as an adult who has to deal with all that shit.
I also vaguely remember this holiday special I saw years ago on this song. It was animated, and the villain tries to impress the princess by getting her entire Christmas list. Only his hapless minion grabs the king's crossword puzzle answers on accident so when he comes by with his master's gifts every day the king lets it go since he is answering his crossword. Don't remember what it was called, but the story just stuck in my head it seems.
I think remember that cartoon special! It's "The Twelve Days of Chirstmas" by GoodTimes Entertainment.
Sounds familiar
Love the song "The 12 Pains of Christmas"! Used to have it on cassette with a bunch of others like it. A few were - "The Restroom Sign Said Gentleman", "Wreck the Malls" and Porky Pig singing "Blue Christmas". I miss that tape!☹️
OMG Yes! I love that Christmas special!
"Now why the hell are they blinking!?" 😆
As a devoted Catholic thank you for covering the Catholic Christmas season. Some Catholic subcultures fast but Irish American Catholics like me celebrate and enjoy the Advent and Christmas seasons
There is not just one day of Christmas, traditionally, prior to the biggest party pooper on the face of the planet, Oliver Cromwell, Christmas was indeed celebrated for 12 days. It was a time of feasing and merriment, with all sorts of shennanigans. The Yule log was not the tacky chocolate confection we know today, it was a large log which would be brought into the hall on Christmas eve and would hopefully burn for the whole 12 days, if it did, it would bode well for the home.
This man humor is on point 🤣
"...and a beer, in a tree!" - Scott and Doug McKenzie [Btw, love the references and research as always!]
Really loved this I had no idea but this is my favorite holiday song
Not sure if this was already mentioned, but the colly birds weren't the only ones changed or mistranslated. The line "five golden rings", according to a radio spot narrated by Manheim Steamroller's Chip Davis, actually refused to five ring-necked pheasants. So, there were originally 28 birds mentioned by verse 7.
I was looking for this comment. (haven't gotten very far, my guess it wasn't mentioned)
very informative thank you, just discovered your channel so i'm now subscribed
I never knew it was originally a memory game. Sounds like it would be fun, but I know I'd lose.
One of my favorite versions is by Bob and Doug MacKenzie, where the first day is a beer...in a tree, the Redneck 12 Days of Christmas by Jeff Foxworthy, and the 12 Gifts of Christmas by Allan Sherman. Sherman's version lists off crappy gifts that he ends up returning, like a calendar book with the name of his insurance man, simulated alligator wallet, and a statue of a lady with a clock, where her stomach ought to be.
clock where their stomach should be was from sesame street alligator king by bud luckey
@@Tuesona Maybe Luckey was inspired by Sherman for that. Sherman's song was released in 1963, and Sesame Street premiered in 1969. The "Alligator King" segment first aired in 1971.
@@PatrickRsGhost interesting thanks for telling me never heard of sherman
The Bob and Doug one is the Canadian 12 days of Christmas
@@Tuesona Allan Sherman was a comedian singer/songwriter who often wrote parodies of existing songs. Sort of like an early "Weird Al" Yankovic. Sherman wrote songs sung to various classical pieces, and parodies of popular songs of the era. He was mainly active in the 1950s and 1960s.
One of his most well-known songs is "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah (Letter from Camp Grenada)", sung to the tune of Ponchielli's "Dance of the Hours". It was all about how life at camp was miserable, like how campers were going missing, some coming down with food poisoning or other ailments, and how the weather was miserable, but then it clears up and the kids are out doing cool stuff. It was used in an episode of "The Simpsons" when Bart was caught shoplifting a video game. He switched out the tape that had a message from the store's security guard with a tape containing the song. When Homer plays it on the machine, he asks Marge if Lisa was at Camp Grenada. There was also a commercial for a topical medication for dogs that used the song, featuring a puppy singing about how fleas, ticks, and mosquitos were bothering him at camp, and thanking them for sending the topical medication.
Other parodies he did included one to Petula Clark's "Downtown", called "Crazy Downtown", told from the point of view of a parent who was frustrated with his disrespectful teenage kids, "Harvey and Sheila", sung to the tune of the Jewish traditional song "Hava Nagila", talking about the life of a married couple, "Sarah Jackman", to the tune of "Frere Jacques"/"Where is Thumbkin", where a guy asks Sarah how she is and how members of her family are, and she responds with rhyming responses, and a parody of "Chim-Chim-Cher-ee" from "Mary Poppins", talking about commercials and mascots.
I researched this song online some years ago and found an article which said the song is of French origin, both lyrics and tune, and dates from the 18th century. The birds are ones that would be consumed by wealthy people at Christmas, the lords and ladies are festive season partygoers, dancing to the accompaniment of the musicians. The iconic first verse is a hybrid French / English pun - the French word for partridge is “perdrix”, pronounced “perr dree” which sounds like “pear tree”. That’s all there is to it, quite banal really 🤷🏻♀️
another one so soon? we are truly blessed.
I always hated this song as a child. It was tedious and annoying.
And now, thanks to many re-inventions and parodies, it's one of my favorites. Straight No Chaser's amazing mashup with "Africa," Reliant K screaming "What's a partridge? What's a pear tree? I don't know, so please don't ask me!" And of course Matthew Ebel and his "Twelve Days of Christmas in Space," because everything is better with robots.
Relient K's is my favorite.
Reliant K and Straight no chaser have to be my favorites! Now I wanna go listen to them...
merry christmas and a happy new year
I personally get a kick out of the 12 days version done by Bob and Doug McKenzie back in 1981....lol....
I love that add read. "It's a credit card. It works just like a credit card. It's amazing" I may have misheard but I still had a good laugh
The 12 Pains Of Christmas, I remember that song. It was hilarious, especially the "Rigging up these lights" part. He was such a mood🤣🤣🤣 (For people that aren't familiar, its by Bob Rivers)
Idk why, but your videos always post right after work, perfect for my after work shower lol. It's become a bit of a ritual
Another interesting thing, not many Knew what Colly Birds were outside the area, so they not only changed it, but had a write-in contest for it.
So, what are colly birds?
@@2degucitas I had to look it myself,
A colly bird is just another name for the European Blackbird, even though it really is a thrush. But no matter what kind of bird it is, it's still a lousy Christmas gift to receive from your true love
@@TheBlindDyslexic 3 colly birds baked in a pie, does sound more reasonable than four and twenty of them.
Great video and very interesting hypothesis about the song. 🙂
My mind is reeling right now because, growing up in a very catholic area and going to catholic schools my entire childhood, I was always taught there were 12 apostles and that number just stuck despite certain context pointing to 11. It’s all so wild.
Well...there were 12 but Judas ...did his whole "betraying the Son of God" thing so that made 11....
It was the period before Christmas, known as Advent which was a time of fasting and abstinence, although less strictly so than Lent.
Twelve pack a bud
Elevin wrastlin' tickets
Ten acopenhagen
Nine years probation
Eight table dancers
Seven packs of redman
Six cans of spam
Five flanel shirts
Four big mud tires
Three shot gun shells
Two huntin' dogs
And some parts to a Mustange G.T
Nice!
@@2degucitas Redneck 12 Days of Christmas, by Jeff Foxworthy!
@@tgbluewolf Thanks!
So fresh! Nice to catch an upload so soon after publishing.
I knew the list.
Some favorite versions : the 12 Pains, the 12 Gifts, and the Hawaiian version
also the Muppet version is lots of fun
and If you ever look in to it the stories behind some of the Catholic Saints could be interesting.
Saint Frances
Saint Clare of Assisi
Saint Juan Diego
Saint George
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha -
Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe
Saint Nicholas
Saint Patrik
Saint Peter
Saint Joseph
Saint Michel
Saint Vincent De Paul
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
Saint Columba
Saint Lucy
There are some to start off with as I find there stories to be interesting and some of them are highly popular even among people who don't know Saints
The Story behind "Sighet Knight" is also interesting
as is the Christmas truce of 1914
The Christmas Candle is a Christmas novel written by Max Lucado
the legend of the nisse
Tradition of placing wooden shoes full of carrots
The strange legend of the Swedish Yule goat
The origins of the swedish horse
Yes Virginia
Emmet Otter
Twas the Night Before Christmas
and
The Christmas pinata
These are the things I value around my house every year, so it would be nice to share them
I wanna check out the Hawaiian 12 Days of Christmas!
All news to me! Love your channel's material!
Hi💜💜💜 Merry Christmas 🎄
This was so interesting! Thanks Jon!
Technically Christmas and Yule were once on the same day. Under the Julian Calendar system the solstice was Dec25, when the Gregorian Calendar system came out, the day of the solstice change but the Christmas date stayed the same. Yule however, stayed on the solstice under a different calendar system.
'Yule' was the mid-winter season not a festive day.
Many years ago, Nieman Marcus (a high-end department store) had one spectacular gift each year. One year, the special was the 12 days of Christmas. I remember laughing,! “The nobility may be a bit impoverished lately, but if you don’t mind substituting lads from a local dance school for the lords a leaping…”
I hope you're gonna cover Janus next. He's the god that January was named for.
Do you think his first name is Hue?
Sorry I've got my woosh a little too late, just now: makes sense as Janus is the god of passages and movement, and January is the month that sign the passage to the New Year... Also the two-faces are meant to face forward and backward at the same time, warding both entrances and exits... Of places... And ages?
From the content to the sponsor…just like that you’re my fav channel
And here I thought that the origins of the12 Days of Christmas was that some knight wanted to marry a princess and to impress her, he tried to steal her Christmas list. Only he ended up with crossword puzzle answers. And got his servant to actually ger those things for her.
And the princess was allergic to feathers
I was totally not expecting that jazzy Christmas outro but I liked it☺
Yay just in time for sleep 😴 thanks Jon! 😊
i was looking back for your videos you're a really funny guy
Great vid Jon, I really want to know about the 12 pains now lol. I remember in school one of my teachers had my class sing this song as a memory game; it was kind of a pain. Also, I have to say I do like the idea of the 12 items being connected to 12 different concepts from religion/the bible, but that stems from my spiritual background. I can see how the song may have little or nothing to directly do with such things.
Yes John solo here it's good to see you and been a while!
THANK YOU for explaining that here are 12 DAYS between Christmas and jan 6th Epiphany. Growing up Catholic, I NEVER returned to school until AFTER Jan. 6th. Now, everyone returns to work & school Jan. 2nd making the Christmas holiday shorter... not to mention making the whole thing sacrilegious.
I like how you slipped the "Yule Goat" in between yule log and caroling, like we're supposed to go "yeah, the traditional yule goat".
So wtf is a yule goat.
Krampus, maybe?
Very common in Scandinavian tradition
"very common scandi tradition" doesn't explain the role of a Yule goat
Happy holidays Jon! Hope it's a good one!
The thing about the “Catholic Code” theory is, none of the doctrines mentioned as coded items were things the Protestants had any issue with.
a great point! I’m not familiar with the specifics of the religions so I didn’t catch that. appreciate you sharing :)
True, but they did have issues with Catholics passing the Faith along to their children, even though there are things that protestants agree with. Even now, in an age with so much access to information, and the constant fight against misinformation, people still spread lies about Catholicism, just parroting what they've been told instead of actually doing research. I could imagine that back then, protestants didn't think that Catholics believed in some or any of these common teachings, and Catholics were banned from teaching their children the Faith anyway, regardless of some commonalities, so since those shared beliefs are still part of Catholic teaching they were put into a code along with everything else.
Or maybe the code has been changed so much, it's now said to be beliefs that are shared with protestants but it originally wasn't. 🤷♀️
Strolling strolling ooohhh NEW JON SOLO!! MY SOUL😁
its just a mnemonic for Xtian doctrine (both catholic and protestant have the same basics)
since this doesnt mention anything expressly catholic? like saints or the virgin mary? its just as likely to be a sunday school song for the protestant
On the first day of Christmas, Jon Solo gave to me: The Messed Up Origins of 12 Days of Christmas | Nursery Rhymes Explained.
It's very interesting that you said that the "two turtle doves" represented the bible testiments. I've always wondered if they had anything to do with the lines in Leviticus where it says that women should sacrifice two doves or two turtles during their menstruation. I know periods and Christmas aren't related, but hey, it was just a thought! 😂
From English Heritage site " it was actually ‘good Queen Charlotte’, the German wife of George III, who set up the first known tree at Queen’s Lodge, Windsor, in December 1800." Interesting that this first English Christmas tree coincides with the first known publication of this song.
This was such a good idea. Its a song I think we have all wondered about once or twice before.
I think the theory about the song being a code is such a stretch. You can find any way to match numbers from the bible to any song that has numbers involved. I could say the 12 drummers represented the 12 labors of Heracles.
That's kind of a point in the code theory's favor, though: codes are supposed to only be understood by your allies, not your enemies. If a Catholic met another Catholic, they'd understand that these are Bible references, but since protestants banned Catholics from teaching the Faith, protestants were supposed to think that it's about anything else. Labors of Hercules, a honey-do list, whatever. Ironic and just plain stupid, considering that the Bible existed long before people started inventing the various protestant groups in the 1500s.
Really loved this video. Nice one Jon.
I also love the 12 Pains of Christmas. However, you should definitely check out the 12 Days of Christmas by Alan Sherman. Number 1 in a Japanese transistor radio!
It's a Nakashuma.
My favorite variant of the song is "The Eight Days After Christmas". I learned it when I was in high school. We sang it in choir class. I haven't heard it since, but I enjoyed it so much that I memorized it and have performed it solo on several occasions.
Omg I'm super hybed!🥰💜
Jon, you make good shit my dude. Keep it up!
My mother was born on epiphany, so she made sure we all knew when the 12 days of Christmas were. She was counting down to her birthday. 🤣
Thank you for the video!!!
Italy has a list of religious stuff, but listed out explicitly. One is the child in the cradle, two the donkey and the ox (by the manger Jesus was in), three the three kings orient, four the evengelists, five "five precepts" (not sure which), and I've forgotten the rest. Ten may have been the commandments.
Wait, Italian here: we never sang this song in school and such (went to Catholic school too). Probably back then wasn't in fashion? I know that plenty songs have literal and modern translations (Jingle Bells or Silent Night) single parishes like to "translate" songs and melodies from other languages and culture so this one might as well, but usually instead of "12 days of Christmas" we used to sing "Alla fiera dell'Est" and it's a memory game from... Jewish folklore? It doesn't have any religious or festive meaning though, more of a "Butterfly Effect" vibe.
Loved it and had no idea. . Thanks
I have been a catholic since birth, but until like 2 years ago I had no idea why we didn't take the tree down until the first Sunday of the new year
Sadly, catechesis has gotten weaker since V2. There's plenty of telling what we do, but not enough explanation as to why or how.
Blindly following traditions is not a smart or productive way to live.
Merry Christmas
No, I didn't know it was a memory game either. I was raised Catholic, and in school, we were taught the "secret code" theory, except we were taught what they all meant, either. I DID figure out that the partridge was Jesus, though. Big brain.
I honestly don’t understand that idea. It isn’t like Protestant Christians don’t believe in the Bible. All of those things listed are taught about at any church.
@@joyfulchristina True, but either the real code has been changed and forgotten over time, or like now, protestants don't know what Catholicism actually teaches, so when Catholic catechism was illegal, that would include the beliefs that are common between Catholics and protestants (since protestants may not have even known that they had these things in common), which would've been put into a code along with everything else.
It's heartbreaking how catechesis has been so watered down. Just like secular education, there's only memorization of rules, without explanation of why or how these things are believed.
@@tgbluewolf, at least for religion, things are left unexplained for two reasons: firstly, to retain the divide between the priests/pastors and the sheep, and, secondly, because, if they WERE explained, your average child of six could poke holes in the stories with ease.
There was a time when some people celebrated Jan 6th as Xmas Day. It took a while to get everyone on the same page regarding what dates Easter & Xmas fell on since not everyone was using the same dating/calculating system (or even the same gospels) for establishing "the rules." It all evolved & coalesced over time as Christianity grew in the Greco-Roman world & spread.
i think the orthodox church still celebrates christmas on the 6th.
idk if spain still does it nowadays, but they used to celebrate the birth of jesus on the 25th but only exchange presents on the 6th
I would love to see the rest of Jon's "Krismass" list. Maybe a dictionary or a book of grammar rules should be on it! 😂🤣
Merry Christmas and happy holidays of 2021, Solo Fam! 🎄🎁🕎💚🖤💖🎉
Excellent review- your humor on this one is priceless- merry Christmas
Actually the theory that I most often heard before was it was a list of the Christmas presents Henry the 8th gave to his different wives over the time he was married to them
This was truly an awesome episode. Excellent job. I totally enjoyed it.
Another full 13 week college course given in less than 14 minutes by the master himself.
Omgosh, EXACTLY!! 😂
The only piece of Christmas content I will consume is this video. Thank you for not making me miserable, Jon, lol.
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I actually watch your sponsor schpiel. Not only entertaining, but products I actually want to know about.
I've always wondered what the messed up origins of 12 Days of Christmas was, I wonder no more. It's truly messed up.
Nice video! I’ve been watching your videos for a while now!
Very interesting as usual
In Dutch 🇧🇪 there is a song where we do sing about the things listed from Christianity. But not disguised as random gifts. I never linked the two songs because the ritme is totally different but it is similar in the way that it also repeats the previous items.
i thought that they maybe took inspiration from this song to give the random gifts meaning.
the items in the song are:
one God
Two stone tablets of Moses
tree patriarchs
four evangelists
five virgins
six bottles of water turned in to wine
seven Sacraments
eight wonders of life
nine choirs of angels
Ten Commandments
Eleven Thousand virgins in heaven
Jews have a similar memory game song, "Echad Mi Yodea" (Who Knows One?) we sing on Passover with these items:
1 God
2 Tablets
3 Patriarchs
4 Matriarchs
5 Books of the Torah
6 orders of the Mishnah (Talmud)
7th day Sabbath
8th day of circumcision
9 months till a baby's born
10 Commandments
11 stars on Joseph's Dream
12 Tribes of Israel.
There are versions on UA-cam on both Hebrew and English
Favorite channel in all of UA-cam! The highlight of my week!
My dear and beloved Jon Solo, I never questioned the song. I just sang it in my youth.
I do enjoy your channel because of all I can learn outside of my fields of study. It is nice to hear you now have a research staff to help you get this information. I like the summaries; otherwise I would have to continue missing this entertaining information. Medical information keeps me busy and you know how that keeps changing.
So I will continue to follow your efforts as I can. Most often I am late to the party but I do get here.
5th of December is start of youletide. The Christmas stuff was changed up here an there for their religion and holidays to suit the pagans they were converting or slaughtering if they did convert to this new peaceful religion. Books removed an translations were rough to suit the rulers at the time. Don’t even know when Jesus birthday actually was for them to state it on a current era calandra. But those dates we set already a bit different but accurate to date time frames now days except the year is different. Runic era calendars were what was roughly used with the seasons and cycles of the moon to know days dates and times of year
Serbian Christmas is 12/13 days (depending on how you start your counting) that is from Christmas to the following days, so since my mom and I are american and Serbian we sort of just use it as an excuse for late gift giving lol
One minute in and I'm rolling on the floor laughing 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
And that's why we love you, Jon Solo 😊
Thanks for the fun holiday-themed trivia, Jon. I wish you and your family happy holidays!
"When one light goes out they all go out!" "She's a witch. I hate her!" From The 12 Pains of Christmas. A classic!
Finally, an ad that appeals to me. Merry Christmas, Jon!!!
I won a door decorating contest in college using the Twelve Days of Christmas. Used tissue paper and construction paper. That was ages ago in the late seventies. Good times. 💕🐝🇺🇸