Editor's Note: This is part five in a 12-day series explaining the meaning and orgins of the song, 12 Days of Christmas. The 12 days are thought to begin on Christmas Day or Boxing Day and end on the fifth or sixth day of January on the Day of Epiphany, celebrated by the Catholic Church.
And on the fifth day, five golden rings. Finally, a gift that's not a bird, right? Wrong!
The fifth day is not referring to the finger-adorning jewelry, but rather, to another
type of bird, either the ring-necked pheasant or the goldspinks which is an old name for goldfinches.
Even though, the song originated as five gold rings, it is often sung
as five golden rings, because it flows better. In the religious aspect of
the song, the five gold rings represent the Pentateuch which is first five
books of the Bible's Old Testament also known as the Hebrew scriptures.
Dave satonin
1:30 pm on Thursday, December 29, 2011
They are the fiirst five books of the Torah. They are five generations given to the person receiving the gifts. He is given the strength of five generations. He brings a greater light into the world. They are not birds, they are five crowns.