OK, I know. Christmas is long gone. It’s even beyond January 5th, the final day of the 12 Days of Christmas. But before you know it, the shops will be advertising festive decorations and gifts again (it gets earlier every year!). And relating to a Christmas quiz question, I had an ‘epiphany’ you might say.
I’ve previously blogged on the ‘How many triangles?’ brain teaser. In this video and free Christmassy PowerPoint template, I explore the following common question on Christmas quizzes:
“In the song, ’12 Days of Christmas’, how many gifts were given in total?”
Watch the video below for a run through or read on for more on where these 12 Days come from, why this question annoyed me (inspiring this content!), how I’d work it out, the equations involved, and a lesson in logic.
Where Do the 12 Days of Christmas Come From?
The 12 Days of Christmas isn’t just a cheerful carol. You know the one: “On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me. A Partridge in a pear tree!” And so on. Here’s the lyrics if you’re interested.
It’s origins lie in Christianity, being the full festive season celebrating the nativity of Jesus. Originally called ‘Christmastide‘, the 12 Days of Christmas are celebrated from December 25 to January 5, leading up to Epiphany on January 6. Each day holds significance in the Christian tradition:
- December 25 – Christmas Day
- December 26 – St. Stephen’s Day
- December 27 – St. John the Evangelist’s Day
- December 28 – Holy Innocents’ Day
- December 29 – St. Thomas Becket’s Day
- December 30 – Feast of the Holy Family
- December 31 – New Year’s Eve
- January 1 – Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
- January 2 – St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen
- January 3 – The Most Holy Name of Jesus
- January 4 – St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
- January 5 – St. John Neumann
The song was first published in the late 1700s. The best known English version was first printed in Mirth without Mischief, a children’s book published in London around 1780. It’s various parts actually symbolise religious beliefs and traditions. But to me, it now symbolises a misleading and annoying Christmas quiz question…
How Many Gifts Were Given in the 12 Days of Christmas Song?
So, how many presents were given in total for this song? This is a terrible question, because there’s multiple interpretations as I allude to in the video. Yet there’s supposedly a ‘correct’ answer! Here’s the most common options…
364 Presents
364 was the answer given in the quiz I attended. It basically assumes every item should be counted every time it’s mentioned. For example, five gold rings are counted eight times, from the fifth day to the twelfth. Ironically, this totals one gift for every day of the year except Christmas Day!
The mathematical equation above in yellow shows the quick calculation for this tetrahedral number. While mathematically it might sound right, in practical human terms, it’s clearly completely ridiculous and not thought through!
There’s not been 40 gold rings handed over, nor a dozen partridges in pear trees gifted. If so, why not add another 12 and count the partridge as a separate ‘gift’ from the pear tree? It would be truly psychopathic for one day to give eight maids a milking, then follow this up with another busload of maids over the course of the next four days.
So what would be a sane interpretation? Clearly, the singer is simply recounting and recapping what she’s already received from her true love. Which brings a running total to 78…
78 Presents
78 seems the most likely answer for this nuanced question, balancing the mathematical with the practical. A running total of what’s been received, adding the count of all items (and persons!) received on each new day.
Above is the long form and shorthand maths calculation you can use to calculate any running total of consecutive numbers.
This makes far more sense in terms of the simplicity and what’s really going on. But should we even be counting the maids a milking as eight? Or would they be considered as just one collective gift for that day?!
12 Presents… or Just One?
You could argue that there were just 12 gifts given. Wouldn’t it make sense that the 12 drummers drumming should simply be counted as just one collective gift, rather than counting each individual drummer? You wouldn’t count the individual stems in a bunch of flowers as unique gifts?
Or maybe, taking this further to the extreme, the whole ruse could be counted as just one gift. Certainly a very long, drawn out and elaborate gift akin to a treasure hunt. But easily as just one carefully planned and romantic sequence of gifts to be considered as a whole in its entirety.
Maybe I’m overthinking this! But I hope you enjoyed the discussion and puzzle. And here’s the template I promised you now I’ve finally got around to writing this up.
Get in touch if you’d like me to create you bespoke templates, Excel dashboards or deliver a training session for colleagues. Keep an eye out for more tips and templates coming soon!
Kind Regards, Adrian
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