Postage stamp. Great Britain. Queen Elizabeth II. 1977. The Twelve Days of Christmas. 7p.
Stamp designed by David Gentleman. "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is an English Christmas carol that enumerates in the manner of a cumulative song a series of increasingly grand gifts given on each of the twelve days of Christmas. The song, first published in England in 1780 without music as a chant or rhyme, is thought to be French in origin. The tunes of collected versions vary. The standard tune now associated with it is derived from a 1909 arrangement of a traditional folk melody by English composer Frederic Austin, who first introduced the now familiar prolongation of the verse "five gold rings". "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is a cumulative song, meaning that each verse is built on top of the previous verses. There are twelve verses, each describing a gift given by "my true love" on one of the twelve days of Christmas. There are many variations in the lyrics; they are discussed below. The lyrics given here are from Austin's 1909 publication that first established the current form of the carol. The first three verses run, in full, as follows: On the First day of Christmas my true love sent to me a Partridge in a Pear Tree. On the Second day of Christmas my true love sent to me Two Turtle Doves and a Partridge in a Pear Tree. On the Third day of Christmas my true love sent to me Three French Hens, Two Turtle Doves and a Partridge in a Pear Tree. Subsequent verses follow the same pattern, each adding one new gift and repeating all the earlier gifts, so that each verse is one line longer than its predecessor: 4 Calling Birds; 5 Gold Rings; 6 Geese a-Laying; 7 Swans a-Swimming; 8 Maids a-Milking; 9 Drummers Drumming; 10 Pipers Piping; 11 Ladies Dancing; 12 Lords a Leaping.
Size: 3021px × 2332px
Photo credit: © Stan Pritchard / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 7, 7p, 8, carol, christmas, commemorative, david, days, decimal, elizabeth, gb, gentleman, ii, maids, milking, postage, qeii, queen, stamp, swans, swimming, twelve
