I had almost forgotten about this, until the Concord Pastor brought it up. It’s worth noting, once again: the oft-repeated lore about the true meaning of “The 12 Days of Christmas” isn’t true.

From Snopes.com:

Two very large red flags indicate that the claim about the “secret” origins of the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is nothing more than a fanciful tale, similar to the many apocryphal “hidden meanings” of various nursery rhymes:

* There is absolutely no documentation or supporting evidence for this claim whatsoever, other than mere repetition of the claim itself;

* The claim appears to date only to the 1990s, marking it as likely an invention of modern day speculation rather than historical fact.

You’ll want to read the whole thing.

And then hit “delete” the next time you get an email trumpeting the true story behind this old carol.