what are the 12 days of christmas

The 12 days of Christmas refer to the period in Christian theology that marks the span between the birth of Christ and the coming of the Magi, the three wise men. It begins on December 25 (Christmas) and runs through January 6 (the Epiphany, sometimes also called Three Kings’ Day). The 12 days of Christmas, in fact, are the days from Dec. 25, celebrated as the birth of Jesus Christ, to the Epiphany, celebrated on Jan. 6 as the day when the manifestation of Christ's glory was realized. The now-standard melody for the carol was popularized by the English baritone and composer Frederic Austin. The song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is a cumulative song, meaning that each verse is built on top of the previous verses, and it details a series of increasingly numerous gifts given to the speaker by their "true love" on each of the twelve days of Christmas, starting with Christmas Day and ending on the day before Epiphany (January 5). The gifts in the song are often interpreted to have symbolic meanings, such as the two turtle doves representing the Old and New Testaments