On the 22nd Day

For the girl that loves Christmas songs

La la la...On the 4th day of Christmas my true love gave to me four colly birds (Oxford dictionary of nursery rhymes), or four mocking birds (unknown variant), or four calling birds (US version) or four canary birds (Swedish version), or four coloured birds (French version). La la la..,

The other regional variants include the changing of the verb in the opening line of each verse. In the United States the true love sometimes "gave" the gifts to the singer. In the British version, the true love "sent" the gifts to the singer, but "said" is also found (for example as sung by Kate Rusby).

Lovingly from the BFF who hates Christmas songs (and has had this lovely tune in my head since Thursday when it was playing at Starbucks). Happy Birthday to you!!! (Nope that one didn't stick).

PS The 22nd as the fourth day of this Christmas may be a mute point altogether since the original tradition had the song starting on December 14th leading up to Christmas. Some cultures have the twelve days in the song as the twelve days starting Christmas Day, or in some traditions, the day after Christmas (December 26) (Boxing Day or St. Stephen's Day, as being the feast day of St. Stephen Protomartyr) to the day before Epiphany, or the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6, or the Twelfth Day). Twelfth Night is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "the evening of the fifth of January, preceding Twelfth Day, the eve of the Epiphany, formerly the last day of the Christmas festivities and observed as a time of merrymaking."

Yes it hurts to be in my head (I love you for loving me!)

Happy Birthday to you la la la
And a partridge in a pear tree.....