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Your perfect bundle is calling, and itโs looking fabulous at up to 60% off. Bundlepalooza deals end June 23!
Christmas is much more than a day. Itโs actually a season. Thatโs the basis for the timeless Christmas carol โThe Twelve Days of Christmas.โ The popular holiday jingle celebrates the 12 days starting with Christmas Day on December 25th and running through January 6th (Twelfth Night). Historically, itโs been known as a time of merrymaking. And you know, there is nothing our elves like more than some very merry!
The elves at Annalee wanted to capture the essence of the song, as well as all the merrymaking, in a new three-part series called the 12 Days of Christmas. This holiday season the series features four exclusive designs representing days one through four. The super-cute 2020 holiday designs include the Partridge in a Pear Tree, Two Turtle Doves, Three French Hens, and Four Calling Birds, available together as a limited edition set. Don’t wait to start this collection, only 250 of each collectorโs sets are available.
As the elves crafted these new designs, they kept wondering: What do partridges and turtle doves have to do with Christmas? Well, itโs a tale as old as time (almost).
The exact origins and meaning of โThe Twelve Days of Christmasโ are unknown. Most sources say the lyrics are probably from a childrenโs memory game that originated in France in the mid-1700s. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, the gifts for the 12 days represent foods, sports, or activities that were important at that time.
The earliest known English version of the words was first printed in 1780 in the childrenโs book Mirth Without Mischief as a game to be played on Twelfth Night. The lyrics were recited or chanted without music. It wasnโt until 1909 that a melody was added to the lyrics. Composer Frederic Austin adapted a traditional English folk song into the arrangement we know today.ย
Austinโs version standardized the song. The grand nature of the gifts mentioned (all 364 of them), however, has generally remained the same throughout the history of the song. Today, โThe Twelve Days of Christmasโ is considered a holiday classic that is known and beloved by people all over the world. And itโs still a favorite of children. Especially when you belt out โfive golden rings!โ
ย On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:
A partridge in a pear tree
Day 2: Two turtle dovesย
Day 3: Three French hensย
Day 4: Four calling birdsย
Day 5: Five golden ringsย
Day 6: Six geese a-laying
Day 7: Seven swans a-swimming
Day 8: Eight maids a-milkingย
Day 9: Nine ladies dancing
Day 10: Ten lords a-leaping
Day 11: Eleven pipers piping
Day 12: Twelve drummers drumming
ย Buying all 364 gifts, however, might be a little outside the budget for the average holiday shopper. Since 1984, PNC Bank has prepared a tongue-in-cheek calculation of what it would cost to give each gift mentioned in โThe Twelve Days of Christmas.โ The 2019 total was $170,298.03. Cha-ching! Thatโs why the elves at Annalee think the new 12 Days of Christmas series makes the perfect gift instead. It features all the grand gifts and merrymaking from the song without the unruly cost (and the mess caused by those geese a-laying).
Celebrate the Christmas season with the first collectorโs set of the Annalee 12 Days of Christmas series and make it part of your holiday tradition for years to come.ย