Question
First published in England in 1780, this English Christmas carol enumerates
a series of increasingly grand gifts given on each of the twelve days of Christmas.
In the early 20th century, English composer Frederic Austin wrote an arrangement in which he added his melody from "Five gold rings"
onwards, which has since become standard.
A bit of modern folklore claims that the song's lyrics
were written as a "catechism song" to help young Catholics learn their faith,
at a time when practicing Catholicism was criminalized
in England (1558 until 1829).