<P> "Twelve days of Christmas" was adapted from similar New Years' or spring French carols, of which at least three are known, all featuring a partridge, perdriz or perdriole, as the first gift . The pear tree appears in only the English version, but this could also indicate a French origin . According to Iona and Peter Opie, the red - legged (or French) partridge perches in trees more frequently than the native common (or grey) partridge and was not successfully introduced into England until about 1770 . Cecil Sharp observed that "from the constancy in English, French, and Languedoc versions of the' merry little partridge,' I suspect that' pear - tree' is really perdrix (Old French pertriz) carried into England"; and "juniper tree" in some English versions may have been "joli perdrix," (pretty partridge). Sharp also suggests the adjective "French" in "three French hens", probably simply means "foreign". </P> <P> In the northern counties of England, the song was often called the "Ten Days of Christmas", as there were only ten gifts . It was also known in Somerset, Dorsetshire, and elsewhere in England . The kinds of gifts vary in a number of the versions, some of them becoming alliterative tongue - twisters . "The Twelve Days of Christmas" was also widely popular in the United States and Canada . It is mentioned in the section on "Chain Songs" in Stith Thompson's Motif - Index of Folk - Literature (Indiana University Studies, Vol. 5, 1935), p. 416 . </P> <P> There is evidence pointing to the North of England, specifically the area around Newcastle upon Tyne, as the origin of the carol . Husk, in the 1864 excerpt quoted above, stated that the carol was "found on broadsides printed at Newcastle at various periods during the last hundred and fifty years", i.e. from approximately 1714 . In addition, many of the nineteenth century citations come from the Newcastle area . </P> <P> According to The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, "Suggestions have been made that the gifts have significance, as representing the food or sport for each month of the year . Importance (certainly has) long been attached to the Twelve Days, when, for instance, the weather on each day was carefully observed to see what it would be in the corresponding month of the coming year . Nevertheless, whatever the ultimate origin of the chant, it seems probable (that) the lines that survive today both in England and France are merely an irreligious travesty ." </P>

Lyrics to the song 12 days of christmas