Twelve Days of Christmas Graphics

From LoveToKnow Web-Design

This holiday season, many people will find themselves searching the Internet for Twelve Days of Christmas graphics.

Partridge in a Pear Tree

The Origins of The Twelve Days of Christmas

When people think of the Twelve Days of Christmas, many think about the traditional Christian holiday that is now celebrated as just Christmas. Others recall the classic Christmas song by the same name that is now associated, and sung, during the holiday season.

The History of the Holiday

The Twelve Days of Christmas are festival days, also known as Christmastide, starting from the evening of Christmas Day and lasting until the morning of January 6, known as the Epiphany. Throughout history, Christians have celebrated this festive season with various traditions including 12 days of feasts, hanging wreaths, giving gifts, lighting candles, singing songs, and lighting a Yule Log on the first Christmas night. Commercialization of the holiday has shrunk the celebration to one night, followed by a fast transition to the celebration of New Years. However many faithful Christians around the world continue to celebrate the twelve days of Christmas in the traditional way.

The History of the Song

No one knows where the song The Twelve Days of Christmas originated, although it was used for many centuries throughout many traditions starting in the 16th century. The earliest recorded history of the song was its first known publication in 1780 in a children's book called Mirth without Mischief. Many Christians have adopted the song as their own, and there is now a myth circulating that the song was used by early Christians who could not openly practice their faith in those locations where Christianity was outlawed. The actual known origin of The Twelve Days of Christmas prior to 1780 is that it was used as a memory game where players would sit in a circle and take turns singing the song, one verse longer than the last. The first player to forget the words would have to pay a penalty (offering a kiss or a sweet) and the game continues.

The myth is somewhat accurate, however, because the song is based on the Christian holiday. In fact the earliest origins of the song convince most historians that the song is actually of French origin, and originally had seven gifts which were all types of birds.

Finding Twelve Days of Christmas Graphics

During the Holidays, whether you celebrate the twelve days in the traditional way or not, there are many great uses for The Twelve Days of Christmas graphics. People often create websites centered on the holidays, and images that focus on this tradition are perfect for those sites. In addition to standard images, you may want to provide additional resources to your holiday visitors, so coloring pages, artwork, video and games are also very useful either as links or embedded on your holiday website.

Graphics for Web Pages

The following web pages provide images and clip art focused on this traditional holiday and the famous song written about it. Most of the images on these web pages are available for use on your website, but you should contact the site owner for permission.

  • The Voice - This biblical and theological Christian resource describes the Christian symbolism for each day in the song, as well as great clipart for each day.
  • HomeWithGod - This Christian site provides another biblical take about the symbolism of each of the twelve days along with unique images for each day.
  • Penny's Place - This private website provides a very simple display of the entire song, along with cute images for each day. She provides an easy link for visitors to ask for permission to use the graphics.
  • Sunset Graphics - This artist creates beautiful customized artwork, focusing on children's art. This particular piece is a stunning graphic for the 12 Days of Christmas. She will create similar pieces on request.
  • Kids' Turn Central - This adorable website is focused on children's clipart for the 12 Days. These are free to use as long with permission from the creator. Some fun images include a turtle with wings (turtle-dove), and a hen wearing a beret (french-hen).
  • Classic Verse - The focus of this website is Christmas humor, but this section focuses on detailing all verses of the holiday song, and offers an image for each verse.

Graphics for Projects and Fun

Some Final Words

Regardless what the holiday means to you, or how you observe it, the graphics that portray this traditional song are whimsical and fun. They would look great as part of your holiday website design, or in any other project that requires holiday imagery.

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