Day 4
On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me . . .
Four calling birds
Actually, the lyric is colly birds. Yeah, four colly birds. Apparently there was something lost in translation from Europe to the United States, where we sing calling birds instead of colly birds.
What is a colly bird? I was hoping you’d ask.
A colly bird is a European blackbird which is not like a North American black bird but a thrush bird. Do you remember that I’m not very interested in birds? Right. So let’s move on to what these four birds can help us remember when it comes to our faith.
The New Testament (one of two doves), begins with the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Although all of scripture is important, it is in these four books that we read about the life of Jesus Christ.
The gospels tell us his life story—from his birth, which we celebrate now, to his passion and resurrection. In between, we read how he called disciples, taught with parables, and performed miracles. If you want to get to know Christ better, take some time to read about his life.
