Thursday, December 25, 2008

The First Day of Christmas

A Partridge in a Pear Tree

The Partridge in a pear tree is Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, whose birthday we celebrate on Christmas. In the song, Christ is symbolically presented as a mother partridge that feigns injury to decoy predators from her helpless nestlings, recalling the expression of Christ's sadness over the fate of Jerusalem: "Jerusalem! Jerusalem! How often would I have sheltered you under my wings, as a hen does her chicks, but you would not have it so..." (Luke 13:34)

1 comment:

Monk-in-Training said...

So many people sing this song, and do not know what they are singing, great idea!