As normal, I will start with the protestant interpretation for the nine ladies dancing. The dancers represent the nine fruits of the spirit: love joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

As for the alternative interpretation, the images are a bit more literal. The nine ladies dancing evoke images of music and dancing which were a big part of the celebrations at this period of history in England. The term “ladies” probably refers to noble ladies as in a Lord and his Lady or a lady in waiting (high born ladies who waited on the queen at court – not servant women). In this case ladies would be women dancing socially and not professional entertainers. For the most part women were not entertainers in this era so it is unlikely that this refers to a troupe of dancing women.

Another interpretation of the nine ladies dancing would be high born ladies dancing for the entertainment
of the men much as people today will often provide impromptu entertainment at parties and other social gatherings. Again, the emphasis is on celebrating and having fun during this nearly two weeks of non-stop nightly partying.

Dances were known as caroles.  During the Middle Ages, the carole was very popular court entertainment.   But, prior to this time, dancing was considered a sin of the flesh and was connected with the devil.  Since most dances were done in circles, the direction in which one danced also mattered.   Slowly, dancing got accepted — but only if done in the correct direction! The Christian church considered dancing to the left = bad, but dancing to the right = good. However, many non-Christian people danced from left to right because they were worshiping the sun (round) as a way of representing the sun’s movement from east to west. The sun was a priority in many dances. They didn’t do it as a form of evil.   In some cases, the dances were done in a circle around a fire. The fire represented the sun’s light, warmth and purifying qualities.  Eventually, the Christian church failed in banning dancing, especially in circles going left. And, by the 15th century the word for carole was replaced with the word branle, because dancing was then associated with songs.  Eventually, the songs turned into stories, like those about Christmas.  This is how the term Christmas Carols came about. As the years went on, the round dance grew into many different types of dances.

Dancing and fire are two images immediately conjured up for me in my research. The dancing style of east to west made me start thinking about the favorite part of my job – cultural fusion. I recently met a new Laotian bride and was inspired by her culture. I included a few of the beautiful traditional elements of dance and bridal wear hear for you to digest. Enjoy this fiery board.

Adding spice to your life,

Lia

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Eight Maids a-Milking . . .

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Seven Swans a-Swimming . . .

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Six Geese a-Laying . . .

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Five Golden Rings . . .

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Four Colly Birds . . .

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Three French Hens . . .

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Two Turtle Doves . . .

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, A Partridge in a Pear Tree . . .