On the twelfth day of Christmas, my mod love gave to me…twelve Harmonious Beat Prints drumming!

 Happy Holidays from ModCloth!

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my mod love gave to me eleven Pied Piperess Totes piping!

This interactive advent calendar is a cute five-minute diversion for all you Garfield fans out there.

On the tenth day of Christmas, my mod love got those lords a-leaping when he gave to me…ten Modcloth intimates: featuring the Citrus Sorbet Skivvies, Baroque Undies, Hothouse Flower Undies, Peacock Plumage Undies, Deerly Loved Undies, The Bluest Peacock Eye Undies, Yellow Alyssum Undies, and Colette Boyshorts.

If listening to the song is simply not enough to satisfy your die-hard Christmas spirit, read this tutorial on how to make and give your own “12 Days of Christmas” gifts and then check out this website for practical and modern gift substitutions.

On the ninth day of Christmas, my mod love gave to me…nine ladies dancing in the Caliente Salsa Dancing Dress!

I never knew there was a Shrek Christmas special, but apparently it debuted last year on ABC. Have a listen to Shrek’s “12 Days of Christmas” from the bonus features of”Shrek the Halls” DVD.

 On the eighth day of Christmas, my mod love gave to me…eight Moofia Action Figures a-milking. (And by “a-milking” we really mean “a-resembling vessels which contain milk or dairy products.”)

A bit of “12 Days of Christmas” trivia today:  there is acutally no such creature as a “calling bird.” The fourth verse, now commonly recited as “four calling birds” was originally “four collie birds–” “collie” or “colly” being a synonym for “blackbird” in sixteenth and seventeenth century England. Why give blackbirds? It was a common food at the time. (Recall the lyrics to “Sing a Song of Sixpence.”)

On the seventh day of Christmas, my mod love gave to me seven Beach Party Bathing Suit’s a-swimming!

If you’re looking for an exotic twist to the song, be sure to familiarize yourself with the ”12 Day of Christmas”–Aussie style–with Australian animals substituting for the traditional gifts!

On the sixth day of Christmas, my mod love gave to me…six Quacktastic Duck-Laying Eggs a-laying!

To hear a truly original rendition of the “12 days of Christmas,” complete with snippets of Toto’s “Africa” and “I Have a Little Dreidel,” check out Straight No Chaser’s performance of the song at a concert in 1998. Straight No Chaser is a men’s a cappella group that formed at Indiana University in 1996. A video of their “12 days” cover became a phenomenon on YouTube just last year, getting over 9 million views. One of those watching included the CEO of Atlantic Records, who signed them to a five-album record deal, ten years after the original concert. Their album, Holiday Spirits, was released in October of this year.

On the fifth day of Christmas, my mod love gave to me, five golden rings: specifically the Time on My Hands Ring, Madame Bovary Ring, Brassy Dame Double Ring, Key to the City Ring, and Fawn’s Repose Ring.

Everyone hums this holiday tune today, but I’m sure you’ve spent many a night laying awake and pondering just when and how this jolly carol became popular. Some say it began in 18th century England as a memory and forfeit game similar to “We’re Going on a Picnic, in which players had to memorize all of the previous verses and contribute a new verse at the end. The catch was that if players forgot a verse, they would have to pay a forfeit, in the form of a kiss or candy.

There’s also an urban myth that it actually originated as a catechism song. Between 1558 and 1829, Catholicism was outlawed in England. The rumor is that the song was written as a way for young Catholics to learn the tenets of their religion in the form of a catchy, coded song. Historians, however, are reluctant to admit this, as there’s not much substantive evidence to prove its truth.

 On the fourth day of Christmas, my mod love gave to me four…Three Calling Birds Wall Art.

These birdies will spruce up any bare wall, but for more decoration inspiration, look no further than Etsy.  They feature a variety of “12-Days-of-Christmas”-themed indie wares, including glass magnets, cute stitchmarkers, a hand-sewn pet bed,  and even a  calendar to remind you of the holidays year-round!

Though “ModCloth’s 12 Days of Christmas” festivities are well underway, the actual holiday that inspired the infamous carole runs between Boxing Day and January 6th according to ancient Christian tradition. This time of the season is also known as Christmastide and Yuletide and is still celebrated in different ways in some parts of the world. Here in America it’s mostly been neglected in favor of celebrations on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, but in medieval times, the twelve days were still widely celebrated as a festival that culminated in the twelfth night. Besides inspiring some of history’s greatest puppets, The Muppets, this holiday inspired one of history’s greatest writers, William Shakespeare! His popular comedy The Twelfth Night Or What You Will was based on the holiday and plays upon the kind of gender and status role reversals that would have been common during the celebration of the holiday in those times.

And what better to wear on a magical night to the theater than our gift from the third day! On the third day of Christmas, my mod love gave to me…three French Silk Chocolate Dresses!