In honor of the Christmas holiday today I would like to introduce you to a popular English Christmas song. The Twelve Days of Christmas is a famous English language Christmas carol* that describes a series of gifts that are given on the 12 days between Christmas day (the celebration of the birth of Jesus) and the feast of the Epiphany (the day when Jesus’ birth was revealed to mankind). The song The Twelve Days of Christmas is very old; it has been around for many many generations. The origin of the song is not completely known in fact, but it may have originated in France, before it became an English Christmas Carol. This song is repetitive in nature. It starts by describing a gift given on the “first day” of Christmas and goes on to describe different presents given each day, over the next 12 days, until the Epiphany on January 6th. Each verse of this song repeats all the previous verses that have already been sung! So not only is the song repetitive, it is long too. The repetitive nature of this song makes it very fun to sing, but it also makes it great for learning and practicing numbers and new vocabulary for ESL learners!
The song is not that complex, but remembering all the verses does take a good memory. I have listed all the verses below, along with some information about what each ‘gift’ discussed in that verse means (in parentheses). Take a look and listen to the video and lyrics below, and enjoy. Let me know if you have any questions about this song, any other Christmas carols, or this holiday in general. Don’t forget either that the gift of language is a wonderful gift to give and receive, be sure to check out all that Transparent Language has to offer in terms of resources for all language learners at www.transparent.com.
The Twelve Days of Christmas
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…
A partridge in a pear tree (partridge = pheasant, which is a type of small bird that is often eaten)
On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…
2 turtle doves (a type of European dove)
On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…
3 French hens (a type of hen/chicken)
On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…
4 colly birds (a type of common black bird)
On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…
5 golden rings (jewelry made of gold worn on the fingers)
Below are the rest of the verses that are sung in the same fashion. The -a- in the following verse is meaningless. It is added as extra syllable between the two words to make the song easier to sing to the tune.
6 geese-a-laying (geese laying eggs)
7 swans-a-swimming (swans in water)
8 maids-a-milking (maids = young females; young women milking cows)
9 ladies dancing (women dancing)
10 lords-a leaping (lords = men who are noble or have high honor; men dancing)
11 pipers piping (men playing an instrument called a pipe)
12 drummers drumming (a person drumming)
Hi there! I am one of Transparent Language's ESL bloggers. I am a 32-year-old native English speaker who was born and raised in the United States. I am living in Washington, DC now, but I have lived all over the US and also spent many years living and working abroad.
I started teaching English as a second language in 2005 after completing a Master's in Applied Linguists and a Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults' (CELTA). Since that time I have taught ESL in the United States at the community college and university level. I have also gone on to pursue my doctorate in psychology and now I also teach courses in psychology.
I like to stay connected to ESL learners around the world through Transparent Languages ESL Blog. Please ask questions and leave comments on the blog and I will be sure to answer them.
