Hooray! It is the 1st of December and this for me is the where the countdown to Christmas really begins. This is also the start of a mini-series of blog posts that I’ve been thinking about for a while now based around the famous Christmas song, The 12 days of Christmas. This is a song which really does get us into the festive spirit, recorded by various artists over the years and one that most children will learn at some point in their childhood. But what does it all mean? What a strange list of gifts to receive from your true love? I am not sure on face value we would put them on a list for Santa.
It is thought that the lyrics were of French origin and date back to 1700’s without the music or the rhyme as this was added much later. It is a cumulative song where each verse adds to each other and so on. I have been researching that there are some stark parallels that can be drawn upon with the Christian faith in the days leading up to Christmas. For a bit of fun, I’ll be posting for the next 12 days a short seasonal thought about the song and a little Eco gift inspiration based in the lyrics for a more modern Eco interpretation! Hopefully there will be ideas that cover everyone, even for those who are hard to buy for!
On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me…….. A Partridge in a Pear Tree.
Being the first gift, the most significant in the song and communicates the heart of the giver. The giver in the Christian context of this song is God himself. The partridge is a bird that will sacrifice itself for their offspring and in this song, it is talking about the gift of Jesus who was born into this world. His son that would go on to be a sacrifice on another tree which was the cross, for the sin of Adam from the tree in the Garden of Eden. It is the ultimate gift from ‘my true love’ which is the Father who gave his son for our wrong doings. The pear tree is also significant as they are resilient trees that represent longevity and abundance of fruit. The heart of God is abundant and even without the other gifts that come next, the Partridge in a Pear Tree is sufficient.
For a little Eco gift idea for the first day of Christmas, is a little kit to plant your own tree. The Christmas tree represents much of the aspect of being altogether as a family. This little Eco gift comes with all you need to grow one. It makes for a lovely stocking filler or a present to give to children to take home for Christmas like a class gift from a teacher. You probably won’t get a tree in time for Christmas but something to sew and watch grow for the future. The kit is completely biodegradable with no plastic packaging. It is easy enough to make this up as a DIY kit although there are places to buy them such 1moretree who are a small community business that has a mission of planting more trees for the greater good of our planet.
You can also consider wrapping this gift in paper wrapping and using a partridge gift tag from my post on a Paper Christmas.
On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me…….. A Partridge in a Pear Tree.
Little Eco Gifts 
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