Geertgen tot Sint Jans, The Nativity at Night, ca. 1490, National Gallery London, UK. Detail.
Twelve Days of Christmas is probably one of the best-known Christmas carols in English-speaking countries. It lists the gifts received from “my true love” between Christmas Day and the Twelfth Night. Here you can see all the gifts as you sing along. We wish you a wonderful, warm, and relaxing holiday with your loved ones!
On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me
A partridge in a pear tree
As you’ll see in a second the first few days are pretty heavy on the poultry, only on the fifth day we get on with some interesting gifts. Maybe it has something to do with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, eat first, jewelry and fun later.
On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Two turtle doves
On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Three French hens
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Four calling birds
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Five gold rings
If five gold rings are good, a good-sized diamond ring is even better and no one took this closer to heart than Elizabeth Taylor (apart maybe from Marylin Monroe, but while Monroe sang about it, Taylor made it happen).
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Six geese a-laying
And we’re back to poultry… These are of course not the most ambitious lyrics, so please be patient about the birds.
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Seven swans a-swimming
On the eighth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Eight maids a-milking
This is surely the most famous Milkmaid in the world. And it’s no wonder, with the wonderful and saturated colors and dreamy light this painting is simply a pleasure to look at.
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Nine ladies dancing
This painting exudes the pure joy of movement, something most of us won’t feel often during the holiday season, not with all the food. But remember January, with all the new year’s resolutions of healthy living just around the corner – we will get moving again, very, very soon.
On the tenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Ten lords a-leaping
And once we do start moving, nothing will stop us from leaping. Philippe Halsman said:
When you ask a person to jump, his attention is mostly directed toward the act of jumping and the mask falls so that the real person appears.
True to this statement he developed a philosophy of jump photography – jumpology.
On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Eleven pipers piping
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Twelve drummers drumming
Gene Krupa was American jazz drummer, he is considered “the founding father of the modern drumset” by Modern Drummer Magazine. He was also a great showman, so the photos by Mili really show both aspects: a brilliant drummer, but also an enthusiastic showman. You can almost hear him drumming.
Here is a hilarious video of the Twelve Days of Christmas that will help you remember all the gifts:
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Art historian by education, data geek by trade, art and book lover by passion, based in London in love with Europe and travelling around it. You can visit my book blog here: https://bookskeptic.com/
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