12 Days as Catachism

The song The 12 Days of Christmas is more than just a list of twelve silly gifts. Catholics in England during the period 1558 to 1829 were prohibited by law to practice their faith either in public or private. It was illegal to be Catholic. [Note: Parliament finally emancipated Catholics in England in 1829.] 

"The Twelve Days of Christmas" was written in England as one of the "catechism songs" to help young Catholics learn the basics of their faith. In short, it was a memory aid. Since the song sounded like rhyming nonsense, young Catholics could sing the song without fear of imprisonment. The authorities would not know that it was a religious song. Actually, the catechism to which it referred was rather ecumenical so could probably be claimed to be protestant if cornered. 

The song's gifts had hidden meanings to the teachings of the Catholic faith. The "true love" mentioned in the song doesn't refer to an earthly suitor, but it refers to God Himself. The "me" who receives the presents refers to every baptized person. i.e. the church. The partridge in a pear tree is Christ Jesus, the Son of God. In the song, Christ is symbolically presented as a mother partridge in memory of the expression of Christ's sadness over the fate of Jerusalem: "Jerusalem! Jerusalem! How often would I have sheltered thee under my wings, as a hen does her chicks, but thou wouldst not have it so..."

The 12 symbols with their meanings*:

1 Partridge in a pear tree 
    The One true God revealed in the person of Jesus Christ
2 Turtle Doves
    The Old and New Testaments
3 French Hens 
    Faith, Hope and Charity
4 Calling Birds 
      The Four Gospels and/or the Four Evangelists
5 Golden Rings 
      The first Five Books of the Old Testament, the "Pentateuch" which contain the law condemning us of our sins.
6 Geese A-laying 
    The six days of creation
7 Swans A-swimming 
      The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments of the Catholic faith
8 Maids A-milking 
      The eight beatitudes
9 Ladies Dancing 
     The nine Fruits of the Spirit
10 Lords A-leaping  
      The ten commandments
11 Pipers Piping 
     The eleven faithful apostles
12 Drummers Drumming 
     The twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed

*original source of symbol meaning: an article from Catholic Information Network that we discovered in 1995 by Fr. Hal Stockert of Fishnet.
We then discovered some other resources that backed-up this article. 

From Central Valley Christian School Christmas Page.