And Dec 4th....

Brianna and I attended our monthy keepers meeting. This month we did an outreach to a local nursing home where the girls each performed a talent for the elderly. They ranged in talent from singing, dancing, playing an instrument, to homeade crafts made for the residents. The finalle was the song "The 12 days of Christmas" where the girls each acted out a "days" part. It was neat to learn about some of the meaning behind this song.

12 Days of Christmas - The Real Meaning

There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled us. What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas? Well we found out. 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.

1) The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
2) Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
3) Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
4) The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
5) The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
6) The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
7) Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
8) The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
9) Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
10) The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.
11) The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
12) The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

This knowledge was shared with us and we found it interesting and enlightening and now we know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol...so pass it on if you wish.

From there we headed to another mom's home to share our scrapbooks (the girls previous months skill), get pinned, play some games, and decorate cookies! The night was so much fun but ended up being VERY late as most of the group got help up by a train issue from the  nursing home to the other mom's house ............so we got home about midnight!! It really was worth it though. 

Brianna showing the girls her pages. 

Getting pinned. 
Beginning to decorate cookies. 
One down, 2 to go!