Two turtle doves…
African Ring-Neck Doves
Photo credit: J. Washington
‘On the second day of Christmas
My true love gave to me -
Two turtles doves…’
Painting by Kerri Kimbriel
Doves have been mentioned in literature since ancient times. King Hezekiah talks of them in early Judean literature. King Solomon and King David wrote poetry in the Old Testament that included comparisons with doves.
Courtesy stampscoinsnotes.com
Doves were used as sacrificial offerings
because they were considered pure.
Shakespeare even featured a turtle dove in his poem ‘The Phoenix and the Turtle’.
It wasn’t a reptile he was referring to,
but a turtle dove!
Courtesy Monjuri Jannat
So what is the history of this favorite Christmas-time song?
I was surprised after doing some research.
I had always heard that it was a song to help children remember Catholic catechism during a time of Catholic persecution in England.
Partridge in a pear tree stood for
Jesus on the cross,
2 turtle doves stood for
the Old and New Testaments,
Etc.
Wrong!
Let’s think about it.
Protestant and Catholic believe in many similar theologies.
They both believe in:
1) Jesus on the cross
2) Old and New Testaments
3) Faith, hope & love
4) Apostles Matthew, Mark, Luke & John
5) the Torah or the Pentateuch
(first 5 books of the Old Testament)
Etc.
Why make a hidden meaning rhyme?
Courtesy: Not On The High Street
Let’s enjoy it for what it most likely started out as -
A children’s ‘Memory-and-Forfeit’ game.
This game was played in 1800’s England.
Everyone sits in a circle.
The first person starts with up to 3 verses.
The next child repeats the 3 and adds 1 more.
Each person recites the verses before and adds one more, until someone forfeits-
(Messes up a verse!).
Then it’s either give a kiss
or give a piece of candy!
Here are some fun things to do with two turtle doves -
Doodle away inside this simple line drawing and create a masterpiece!
Here’s another one:
Why not trace it onto a piece of clear plastic, like the front of ornament boxes.
Then glue on squares of colored tissue paper. Punch a hole in the top
and hang in a window.
Pretty!
Here’s a cute cookie idea:
Like to play with felt? Here you go!
Let’s take a few drawing lessons:
Courtesy ActivityVillage.co.uk
Turtle Doves have many symbolic meanings. Just a few are love,
friendship, loyalty, loving kindness,
fidelity and trust.
Let’s make some origami doves
and give one to someone who has one of the above characteristics.
If those directions are too confusing, just type in ‘dove origami’ into your search engine and there are many similar instructions out there.
That’s all for now!
‘Til next time,
inkspired
In addition to the last blog’s credits,
here are a few more sites I checked out:
ChristianityToday.org
Coleswildbird.org
Operationturtledove.org
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