The Twelve Days of Christmas

"On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me A partridge in a Pear Tree." -English Christmas Carol

The blog has been silent all fall, but I have been anything but inattentive. I have been working on a holiday surprise for all my loyal readers & knitters.

The twelve days in the song are the twelve days starting Christmas day, or in some traditions, the day after Christmas (December 26) (Boxing Day or St. Stephen's Day, as being the feast day of St. Stephen Protomartyr) to the day before Epiphany, or the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6, or the Twelfth Day). Twelfth Night is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "the evening of the fifth of January, preceding Twelfth Day, the eve of the Epiphany, formerly the last day of the Christmas festivities and observed as a time of merrymaking."^[3]

Although the specific origins of the chant are not known, it possibly began as a Twelfth Night "memories-and-forfeits" game, in which a 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 offering up a kiss or a sweet.^[1] This is how the game is offered up in its earliest known printed version, in the children's book Mirth without Mischief (c. 1780) published in England, which 100 years later Lady Gomme, a collector of folktales and rhymes, described playing every Twelfth Day night before eating mince pies and twelfth cake.^[2]

The song apparently is older than the printed version, though it is not known how much older. Textual evidence indicates that the song was not English in origin, but French, though it is considered an English carol. Three French versions of the song are known. If the "partridge in a pear tree" of the English version is to be taken literally, then it seems as if the chant comes from France, since the red-legged (or French) partridge, which perches in trees more frequently than the native common (or grey) partridge, was not successfully introduced into England until about 1770.^[1][2]

The song was imported to the United States in 1910 by Emily Brown, of the Downer Teacher's College in Milwaukee, WI, who had encountered the song in an English music store sometime before. She needed the song for the school Christmas pageant, an annual extravaganza that she was known for organizing.^{[citation needed]}

I know traditionally, the 12 days begin on Christmas day, but I am jumping the gun and running the promotion before Christmas. ( I figure after Christmas I will be too tired.)

For the next twelve days, there will be a special post on the blog, with free patterns, promotions, contests, & giveaways.

So check back every day until Christmas for a little holiday cheer and fun, from me to you!

Today's special is a free pattern.

WAFFLING
A deeply textured infinity scarf

Size: 10 inches wide by 54 inches long Materials: 4 skeins Malabrigo Twist (or 600 yds. heavy worsted) Size 10 (US) needles (or to obtain gauge) Cable needle, spare needle & yarn needle for grafting Gauge: 5 st = 1 inch

You can wear it in a long loop, or wound twice around the neck for a cozier feel.

The pattern is available for free download on the sidebar or on Ravelry.

I know you were really jonesing for the partridge, but this will just have to do!

Come back tomorrow for another surprise...