Interesting. I've never thought about the origins of the 12 days of Christmas before. I'd hear the "Ring around the Rosie" story, though.

Here's what I've found:

What we do know is that the twelve days of Christmas in the song are the twelve days between the birth of Christ (Christmas, December 25) and the coming of the Magi (Epiphany, January 6). Although the specific origins of the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" are not known, it possibly began as a Twelfth Night "memory-and-forfeits" game in which the leader recited a verse, each of the players repeated the verse, the leader added another verse, and so on until one of the players made a mistake, with the player who erred having to pay a penalty, such as a offering up a kiss or a sweet.

There are no obvious relationships between the concepts to be memorized and the symbols used to represent them in "The Twelve Days of Christmas." In what way do "eight maids a-milking" remind one of the Eight Beatitudes? How are "nine ladies dancing" supposed to bring the Nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit to mind? (Yes, some interpreters have attempted to explain these relationships, but their explanations are so contrived and convoluted as to be beyond the grasp of the children who were supposed to be the primary beneficiaries of this alleged cathechism song.)

More at:

http://snopes.com/holidays/christmas/12days.asp


The one that made me wonder was 10 Lords a-leapin'. The 10 Commandments are so sacred that the phrasing of leapin' Lords seems it would offend . . .