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What’s Going Down in Boyertown? (12 days of christmas)

Jeff Frederick Jeff Frederick27 Jan 2022

Your weekly guide to the events and happenings in and around Boyertown, PA

What to do? Where to go? Here is your one stop list of community events, music, arts, food, business specials, and historic events for Boyertown and beyond…

As a Boyertown graduate, a real estate agent at Glocker Realty, and also a proud member of Building a Better Boyertown, I have had the joy of watching our little town grow. I enjoy having any part in helping our community to move forward. I hope this weekly blog will help shine a light on all the great things happening in and around Boyertown, PA

Here is what’s going down during the week of 12/16/2021 – 12/22/2021

WHAT IS THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS??

First things first, despite what many retail outlets will have you believe, the Twelve Days of Christmas are not the days leading up to Christmas, but actually the days following Christmas. That’s right; December 25th marks the official start of the Christian celebration known as the Twelve Days of Christmas and runs until January 6th (Epiphany).  

Epiphany is the day in which the arrival of the Magi (Three Wise Men) is celebrated.

Back in the olden days of yore Christmas trees were not put up until Christmas Eve, because the Christmas season did not begin until December 25. The season before Christmas Day is the season of Advent.

The following twelve days leading to Epiphany, were then the time for all the merry making and party throwing and frolicking about in fancy clothes.

On January 5th, also known as Twelfth Night, there were large parties thrown that would celebrate the end of the Christmas season. The next day, January 6th, was the day when the tree came down and the decorations went back into storage – a tradition many still hold on to today.

For more history on the 12 Days of Christmas celebration go to: https://www.whychristmas.com/customs/12daysofchristmas.shtml

Now that we straightened that out, what about the Christmas song that you just can’t get out of your head each year? (No matter how hard you try) You know, “On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me.” See I got it stuck in your head already.

The history of the carol is not quite clear. The earliest known version first appeared in a 1780 children’s book by the name “Mirth With-out Mischief.” Most historians agree that it was designed as a “memory and forfeits” game, in which singers tested their recall of the lyrics and had to award their opponents a “forfeit”, a kiss or a favor of some kind, if they made a mistake.

Many variations of the lyrics have existed at different points. Some mention “bears a-baiting” or “ships a-sailing;” some name the singer’s mother as the gift giver instead of their true love. Early versions list four “colly” birds (blackbirds). And some people theorize that the five gold rings actually refer to the markings of a ring-necked pheasant, which would align with the bird theme of the early verses.

In any case, the song we all know today comes from an English composer named Frederic Austin. In 1909, he set the melody and lyrics (including changing “colly” to “calling”) and added as his own flourish with the drawn-out cadence of “five go-old rings.”

Once artist like Perry Como and John Denver and the Muppets recorded 12 Days of Christmas on their albums, the song gained popularity and became a staple for the season. And once you know it, you can’t un-know it. The song has since been parodied countless times, and it’s not uncommon to hear someone add “…and a partridge in a pear tree!” to the end of a comically long list.

Are you wondering how much it would it cost to give someone all the gifts in the song?

According to PNC’s annual Christmas Price Index, which totals out the current cost of the gifts in the holiday song “12 Days of Christmas”, it would cost $41,205 (or $179,454.19 if you included all the repetitions). The most expensive item “Seven swans-a-swimming” tops out the list at a whopping $13,125! That’s a lot of dough and a lot of bird poo!

For those of you who have trouble remembering the correct order of the song (me being one of those people), here is my Christmas present to you…

12 Days of Christmas:

On the first day of Christmas,

my true love sent to me

a partridge in a pear tree.

The song then adds a gift for each day, building on the verse before it, until you’re reciting all 12 gifts together:

Day 2: two turtle doves

Day 3: three French hens

Day 4: four calling birds

Day 5: five gold rings

Day 6: six geese a-laying

Day 7: seven swans a-swimming

Day 8: eight maids a-milking

Day 9: nine ladies dancing

Day 10: ten lords a-leaping

Day 11: eleven pipers piping

Day 12: twelve drummers drumming

Have a happy Christmas!

LET’S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK at your community each week on “The Cast at Glocker”! Matt Green & Jeff Frederick interview local entrepreneurs and those involved in helping the Boyertown area communities. You can catch us every Wednesday at 6pm as we livestream at the Glocker Realty & Insurance Facebook and YouTube pages. Join us live, comment, post questions, and be part of the conversation!

You can watch previous interviews of The Cast at Glocker here: The Cast at Glocker playlist

EVENTS LIST

THURSDAY 12/16/2021

FRIDAY 12/17/2021

SATURDAY 12/18/2021

SUNDAY 12/19/2021

MONDAY 12/20/2021

TUESDAY 12/21/2021

WEDNESDAY 12/22/2021

May your days be merry and bright.

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Have this event blog sent directly to your email each week!

If you would like your event posted email me at jeff@glocker.com

For real estate assistance contact Jeff Frederick at jeff@glocker.com or call/text at 610-766-2028.

jeff
Jeff Frederick
@twitter.com/JeffatGlocker
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I am a real estate agent with Glocker Realty in Boyertown, PA. I am a father of two and a husband of one. I love my family the most, but I also love the town I grew up and work in. Hence my blog posts.
Jeff knows Boyertown
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