You may not have noticed, but CHRISTMAS IS COMING! It will be here before we know it. But this newsletter features what happens right after the big day. It is all about the Twelve Days of Christmas: both the holiday season and the song.

The Twelve Days of Christmas, or Christmastide, is the 12-day festive religious season that starts on Christmas Day and ends on the evening of Twelfth Night, or January 5th. It celebrates the time it took for the three wise men to travel to Bethlehem to bring gifts to baby Jesus. In some cultures, it starts a day later and ends on January 6th, the day of Jesus's baptism.

Here's part of what Wikipedia writes about the famous carol. "The earliest known publications of the words to The Twelve Days of Christmas were an illustrated children's book, Mirth Without Mischief, published in London in 1780. A large number of different melodies have been associated with the song, of which the best known is derived from a 1909 arrangement of a traditional folk melody by English composer Frederic Austin."

There have been many variations of the lyrics over the years in different countries and publications. For example, in some versions, "my true love GAVE" me the gifts, and in others, "my true love SENT" them. And a few versions have "my MOTHER" providing the presents.

To continue this tradition of lyric evolution, over twenty years ago, I rewrote the lyrics to make them more "harp-centric." You can read all about it below!

Happy Twelve Days of Christmas to one and all,

Sylvia

In my December 2022 newsletter, I talked about the Christmas Carol Sing-Along with Harps concerts that we presented every December from 1995 to 2011 at my Glendale store and from 2015 to 2018 here on Kauai.

As part of each concert, I explained how harps work, the differences between lever and pedal harps, the fact that we never use our pinky fingers, and other facts about harps and harp players. Therefore, the audience understood the fun harp-related lyrics I wrote for The Twelve Days of Christmas.

Here is the twelfth verse of The Twelve HARP Days of Christmas, which, of course, includes all of the days.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me

twelve glisses glissing,

eleven pluckers plucking,

ten tuners tuning,

nine harpers harping,

eight fingers flying,

seven pedals pedaling,

six songs by Saint Saëns,

five broken strings,

four finger blisters,

three music books,

two tuning keys,

and a harp I can play on my knee!

This was always one of the audiences' favorite sing-alongs of the concerts. And we had fun listening to them try to sing the tongue-twister, "six songs by Saint Saëns."

I hope you enjoy singing my version this Christmas!

Here are some of the PDFs I've added to harpcenter.com this past month.

Anna Dunwoodie

A Kiwi Christmas - Anna's original compositions for a New Zealand Christmas. Watch the videos on the product page.

Rhett Barnwell

In the Bleak Midwinter - Rhett arranged this popular carol for intermediate players.

Douglas Beck

Welcome the Christ Child - a "Christmas Treasury" of 15 pieces. Videos coming soon.

Darhon Rees-Rohrbacher

Hymns for Advent - 24 Advent hymns for intermediate players. Watch the video on the product page.

Diana Stork

Winter Bells is Diana's lively original composition. Watch the video on the product page.

Cindy Shelhart - music for double-strung harp

Make Mine a Double - a beginning method for double-strung harp

Double the Carols - 13 Christmas carols arranged for double-strung harp

Double the O'Carolan - 13 O'Carolan tunes arranged for double-strung harp

Double the Weddings - 13 arrangements of Celtic and classical music for double-strung harp

The publications on sale this month include songs that represent each of the Twelve Days of Christmas. For example, Suzanne Guldimann's Three Ravens PDF includes a piece titled "The Turtle Dove," which is perfect for the second day's "two turtle doves" lyrics. The only PDF or book of actual Christmas music in this sale is my 50 Christmas Carols, which includes the "Twelve Days of Christmas" song. The rest are non-Christmas selections that represent the original lyrics in a fun way.

To get the 15% discount, enter the code Twelve in the "Enter Promo Code" box on your shopping cart page and click "Enter Code" by December 31, 2023. See the "How to get the 15% discount" section at the bottom of this newsletter for more information.

50 Christmas Carols

including

The Twelve Days of Christmas

arranged by Sylvia Woods

Book or PDF, CD or mp3

15% off with Twelve code

------------------------------

On the

twelfth day

of Christmas,

my true love

sent to me . . .

12 drummers drumming

52 Scottish Songs

including Dumbarton's Drums

arranged by Sylvia Woods

Book or PDF, CD or mp3

15% off with Twelve code

------------------------------

11 pipers piping

Songs of the Spirit

including Piper's Tune

arranged by Barbara Semmann

PDF

15% off with Twelve code

------------------------------

10 lords a-leaping

Irish Harper Vol. 2

including Lord Inchiquin

arranged by

Máire Ní Chathasaigh

PDF

15% off with Twelve code

------------------------------

9 ladies dancing

Midnight Fairies

including Fiesta Dancing

arranged by Gelsey Hughes

PDF

15% off with Twelve code

------------------------------

8 maids a-milking

Manx Songs

for the Irish Harp

including The Milking Song

arranged by Charles Guard

PDF

15% off with Twelve code

------------------------------

7 swans a-swimming

Soaring Strings

including Swans at Sunset

arranged by Cathryn Cater

PDF

15% off with Twelve code

------------------------------

6 geese a-laying

Honey's Celtic Harp Book #1

including

The Geese in the Bog

arranged by Therese Honey

PDF

15% off with Twelve code

------------------------------

5 gold rings

Into the West

from Lord of the Rings

arranged by Sylvia Woods

PDF or Sheet

15% off with Twelve code

------------------------------

4 calling birds

Sweepin' the Clouds Away

including

Birds of Blue Ridge

arranged by Sharon Thormahlen

PDF

15% off with Twelve code

------------------------------

3 French hens

An Irish Tunebook

including Les Poules Hupees (The Crested Hens)

arranged by Sue Richards

PDF

15% off with Twelve code

------------------------------

2 turtle doves

The Three Ravens

including The Turtle Dove

arranged by Suzanne Guldimann

PDF

15% off with Twelve code

------------------------------

and a partridge

in a pear tree

Chaucer Songbook

including The Pear Tree

arranged by Carol Wood

PDF

15% off with Twelve code

------------------------------

15% off select sale items when you use the code word Twelve

Our newsletter promo codes are redeemable online and are only valid for the products listed above in the monthly sale section. They are not valid for phone or email orders. This month's code word is Twelve.

Here's how to get your newsletter discount at harpcenter.com:

#1. Put the items you want to purchase in your cart.

#2. On the page where you view the items in your cart, type this month's code word Twelve in the "Enter Promo Code" box and click "Apply."

The actual price of the featured sale products on this page will then automatically change to reflect the discount. For example,

   Unit Price: $9.95 (the original price)

   Total Price: $8.46 (the discounted price)

You'll also see a note below the Promo Code box saying the name of the promo code you entered and the percentage amount of the discount.

REMEMBER: You must enter this month's code word Twelve in the Promo Code box and click "Apply" on your shopping cart page by December 31, 2023, to get the discount!

If you forget, or if you have trouble adding it to your order, email Sylvia immediately.  

This offer expires at the end of the day on 12/31/2023.