The Twelve Days of Christmas

How many gifts did my true love send to me altogether?

HollyFirst verse:
On the first day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
A partridge in a pear tree.

Last verse
On the twelfth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree!

There are 12 verses altogether.

 

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Keywords: Starter | Number Patterns | Xmas

  • Wikipedia,
  • Sunday, November 14, 2010
  • "The traditional recorded celebration of Boxing Day has long included giving money and other gifts to those who were needy and in service positions. The European tradition has been dated to the Middle Ages, but the exact origin is unknown and there are some claims that it goes back to the late Roman/early Christian era; metal boxes placed outside of churches were used to collect special offerings tied to the Feast of Saint Stephen. In the United Kingdom, it certainly became a custom of the nineteenth-century Victorians for tradesmen to collect their "Christmas boxes" or gifts on the day after Christmas in return for good and reliable service throughout the year. Another possibility is that the name derives from an old English tradition: in exchange for ensuring that wealthy landowners' Christmases ran smoothly, their servants were allowed to take the 26th off to visit their families. The employers gave each servant a box containing gifts and bonuses (and sometimes leftover food). In addition, around the 1800s, churches opened their alms boxes (boxes where people place monetary donations) and distributed the contents to the poor. However, the exact etymology of the term "boxing" is unclear and for which there are several competing theories, none of which is definitive."

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Answer

You can listen to the a complete breakdown of the answer by clicking on the play button below:

364

[Audio excerpt from Natalie Cole's version of the Twelve Days of Christmas]
Computer Teacher, do your students have access to computers?
Do you have "Laptops in Lessons"?

Whether your students each have a TabletPC or share a desktop PC, this activity lends itself to eLearning (Engaged Learning).

Laptop

Here is the URL which will take them to a concise version of this page.

Transum.org/go/?Start=December26

Here's the URL which will take
them to a student version of this activity.

www.transum.org/go/?to=12days