Furthermore…

I’ve heard and read a few things over the last few days, as Christmas became Topic #1, about how the curious gifts in the traditional song ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ served a cryptic purpose. Tracing back to the time when Catholics were strongly persecuted in England, and were forbidden to speak openly of their faith or carry materials reflecting Catholicism, the Four Calling Birds, Ten Lords a-Leaping and the rest each signified a Church teaching, such as the Four Gospels or the Ten Commandments.
Religious symbolism of The Twelve Days of Christmas (The 12 Days of Christmas)

1 ‘True Love’ refers to God
‘2 Turtle Doves’ refers to the Old and New Testaments
‘3 French Hens’ refers to Faith, Hope and Charity, the Theological Virtues
‘4 Calling Birds’ refers to the Four Gospels and/or the Four Evangelists
‘5 Golden Rings’ refers to the first Five Books of the Old Testament, the “Pentateuch”, which gives the history of man’s fall from grace.
‘6 Geese a-Laying’ refers to the six days of creation
‘7 Swans a-Swimming’ refers to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments
‘8 Maids a-Milking’ refers to the eight beatitudes
‘9 Ladies Dancing’ refers to the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit
‘10 Lords a-Leaping’ refers to the ten commandments
‘11 Pipers Piping’ refers to the eleven faithful apostles
‘12 Drummers Drumming’ refers to the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle’s Creed.

I always assumed, perhaps wrongly, that the song was reflective of the courtly and noble culture of that era, , and that the various gifts were familiar items among the lords and ladies, and that perhaps the lower strata of society derived some vicarious pleasure from singing about and imagining the trappings of the splendid life style closed to them. It seems possible that the song pre-existed the religious interpretations, which might have simply been imposed on a silly ditty by individuals with didactic intent.