Merry Christmas!!! The Carol:
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me:
Five Gold Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves, and
A Partridge in a Pear tree
Today is the 5th feasting day of the Octave* of Christmas and the Feast of Saint Thomas Becket, bishop and martyr for Christ.
(*An Octave is a period of eight days in which a feast of the Church is celebrated for that whole period as though it were all the same day. e.g. some of the prayers and antiphons this morning at Mass say, “Today is born our saviour, Christ the Lord.” Christmas Day is the first day in the eight-day celebration of the Octave of Christmas.)
To any non-Christian friends who may be reading this, I raise my seasonal 'advocaat-with-lemonade-and-lime' snowball cocktail
(How to make a snowball drink).St. Thomas Becket became Lord Chancellor of England under King Henry II in 1155, and in 1162 Archbishop of Canterbury. He used his episcopal office to campaign for the freedom of the Church, which resulted in his imprisonment, exile, and finally martyrdom for treason to his sovereign (December 29, 1170).
The season of Christmastide as a whole - in most ecclesiastical traditions - lasts until Twelfth Night (5th January) on the feast of the Epiphany, when decorations and the tree are traditionally taken down.
Legend has it that the carol, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" was written between 1558 and 1829 as a catechism song for young Catholics who were forbidden to practice their faith. Each number signifies a teaching of our Faith.
The “Five Golden Rings” represent the first five books of the Bible known as the Law, Torah or Pentateuch; and also the five wise and five foolish virgins from Jesus's synoptic parable, used by Jesus to warn listeners to be spiritually prepared. The 5 wise virgins had oil, the 5 foolish virgins no longer had oil in their lamps: Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
The parable forms the theme for several hymns, including the 19th century hymn "Behold the Bridegroom Cometh" by George Frederick Root, which begins:
Our lamps are trimmed and burning,
Our robes are white and clean;
We’ve tarried for the Bridegroom,
Oh, may we enter in?
Our robes are white and clean;
We’ve tarried for the Bridegroom,
Oh, may we enter in?
Prayer in honour of St. Thomas Becket
Lord God,
who gave grace to your servant Thomas Becket
to put aside all earthly fear
and be faithful even to death:
grant that we, disregarding worldly esteem,
may fight all wrong, uphold your rule,
and serve you to our life's end;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
Lord God,
who gave grace to your servant Thomas Becket
to put aside all earthly fear
and be faithful even to death:
grant that we, disregarding worldly esteem,
may fight all wrong, uphold your rule,
and serve you to our life's end;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
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