Seven Swans a Swimmin’?

By Jack James
One Christmas, many years ago, my Christmas presents were stolen. They were wrapped, sitting beneath our lovely live cedar Christmas tree, hear one minute and gone the next. My mother and I went to Fort Smith from my home in Huntington and were searching for last minute gifts for extended family. We came home and found the presents were gone. I knew what the presents were: blue jeans, shirts, socks, clothes that I had picked out myself since I had to try them on before Mom would get them. Money was always tight but my sweet parents found the money to buy something for me. In mid-January, an extended family member came to visit along with his family. Two of the boys were wearing my clothes. Mom didn’t say anything in front of me but she did say that they were very poor and must have needed them pretty badly to steal from us. I heard later that he brought the clothes back but mom wouldn’t take them. I wasn’t so forgiving. Nobody steals my husky Wranglers and not expect a stern look from me, by golly.
But I have wonderful memories about Christmas time too! I treasure the memories of the times my Dad and I would spent most of a morning, driving all over the southern part of Sebastian County, in search of the perfect cedar tree for our living room. After finding one suitable to both of our tastes, Dad would cut it down and we would haul it home. Once we were back at the house, Mom would have dug out all of the ornaments in preparation for an afternoon of decorating for the season. Most of the ornaments were old, antique by today’s standards, hand-me-downs from past generations of Goff family. When the tree was complete, it was just as beautiful as it was the past year. In fact, it looked exactly the same as the last year, and the year before, and how it would look the next year as well.
As a young boy, I sang the songs but some of them put my brain in motion. For instance, what exactly is a “Round yon” virgin? Even in my youth, I understood what a virgin was. I remember how we would drop an octave or two when we sang “that word” in the carols. And while we are out it, what is a “bough” of holly? We call it a “ball” of holly. Our minds couldn’t understand why anyone would wish to decorate their hallways with balls of holly. To each their own.
There is one carol that I never understood as a child. What do leaping lords, French hens, ladies dancing, calling birds and a partridge sitting in a pear tree have to do with Christmas? I did some research and found out some very interesting facts about this song.
From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol, “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church.Each part of the carol is code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.
The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ. Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments. Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love. The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John. The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament. The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation. Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit–Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy. The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes. Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit–Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control. The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments. The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples. And finally the twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles’ Creed.
It’s amazing how many things we take for granted that had religious overtones from a time with practicing religion was something that could get you thrown into prison or maybe even killed.
I hope you will all remember what Christmas is all about. I can’t help but grin when I hear of atheists who celebrate the season but don’t believe. It must be very conflicting. May you and your family have a wonderful Christmas day filled with good memories and traditions that will last a lifetime.