On the Fourth Day of Christmas

almost 5 years ago (Edited)

On the fourth day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
Four calling birds
Three french hens
Two turtle doves and
A partridge in a pear tree

Growing up, this was one of most loved chain songs, you know, one that has repeating verses... Row, Row, Row your boat and so many more. They were always good for a long car trip to keep us kids busy.

The line four calling birds is an Americanization of the traditional English wording four colly birds, and in some places, such as Australia, the variation "calling" is replacing the original. Colly is a dialect word meaning black and refers to the European blackbird, Turdus merula.

The line four calling birds in some versions are four coiled birds. I ask you, does anyone know what a coiled bird is? Do tell.

Religiously, The “four calling birds” are the Evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John or their Gospels. So, God bless you. source

I only have one bird in the picture and it's not black. Such is life.

The exact origins and the meaning of the song are unknown, but it is highly probable that it originated from a children's memory and forfeit game. The best known English version was first printed in 1780 in a book intended for children, Mirth without Mischief, as a memorization game to be played on the Twelfth Night. Participants were required to repeat a verse of poetry recited by the leader. Players who made an error were required to pay a penalty, in the form of offering a kiss or confection. source

Of course, my favorite was the Fifth verse of the Twelve Days of Christmas, 5 golden rings. I think it had to do with the natural pause where Gol-den was sung, in this wonderful Christmas classic

Just like always, there must be a flower. Flowers, to color my world.

Where is the love?
Buried alive, deep inside my heart?
Where dreams live that I haven’t dreamt, and when I do, I shall never forget.
Not quite yet, she objects
Not quite yet

And just like that, this show is over! I want to thank you for visiting my post. The support you give me is always appreciated and I thank you for that and as always, have a great day!

Love to all, Denise

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I dedicate this post to all of you. You bring joy to my soul and spread your love across the world. For this, I thank you. And just like that, these musings are done...and just so you know, although we are throwing glitter around the globe, I can guarantee you that there is still a little left to take us through Christmas. Have a most fabulous day!

Thank you for visiting my post 💖 Because of you, I come back to post, again and again, I am encouraged by you, for the time you take to visit, comment or even upvote. For all of these reasons, I am eternally grateful. Don't ever forget what a wonderful world we live in, people. Some days, it is not as easy to see, how wonderful it really is. Kindness counts. Wherever you go, whatever you do.

We Are The World

There comes a time
When we heed a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
Oh, and it's time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all

We can't go on
Pretending day-by-day
That someone, somewhere soon make a change
We're all a part of God's great big family
And the truth, you know, love is all we need
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day, so let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives

It's true we'll make a better day, just you and me
Oh, send them your heart
So they know that someone cares
And their lives will be stronger and free
As God has shown us by turning stones to bread
And so we all must lend a helping hand

We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day, so let's start giving
Oh, there's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day, just you and me

When you're down and out, there seems no hope at all
But if you just believe there's no way we can fall
Well, well, well, well let us realize
Oh, that a change can only come
When we stand together as one, yeah, yeah, yeah

We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day, so let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day, just you and me