ten billion butterfly sneezes

We’ve all heard the song countless times. Ever wonder about significance of the lords a’ leaping, et.al.? From my favorite e-mail jokester from Brown City MI, an explanation. And we all know that everything spread by internet email is a chiseled in stone fact. Right or wrong, I thought this was appealing, so without further ado:

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol 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 element in the carol has a 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 & New Testaments.

“Three French hens”….stood for faith, hope and love.

“The four calling birds”….were the 4 gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and 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 11 faithful disciples.

“The twelve drummers drumming”….symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles Creed.

-k-