{"id":9798,"date":"2025-12-27T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T00:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/?p=9798"},"modified":"2026-02-10T16:38:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T16:38:13","slug":"christmas-12-days-songs-lists-and-singing-mice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/christmas-12-days-songs-lists-and-singing-mice\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas: 12 Days, Songs, Lists, and Singing Mice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20250726ff\/20251220-MouseChorus-DSC09220-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Brian H. Gill's photo: mouse chorus made by CMG. (December 20, 2025)\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chorus of mice, part of this household&#8217;s Advent scene. (December 20, 2025)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a very &#8216;Catholic&#8217; household. But everything we do isn&#8217;t uniquely &#8216;Catholic&#8217;, or something Catholics must always do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Take those mice, for example. My wife made them from bits of felt and cloth some years back, and they&#8217;ve been part of our Advent\/Christmas displays ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But having a chorus of felt mice isn&#8217;t an essential part of being Catholic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There&#8217;s 11 of them, one short of the 12 days of Christmas, but there&#8217;s no profound symbolism involved. Aside from maybe representing the festive songs of this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a name=\"thetwelve\"><\/a>&#8220;The Twelve Days of Christmas&#8221;, Numbers, and Lists<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20250726ff\/20251223-pogo_1971-12-31_fri-trim-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Walt Kelly's Pogo: Miz Beaver at Miggle's gift exchange and return counter, on the 10th day of Christmas. (December 31, 1971?) see https:\/\/panologist.wordpress.com\/2012\/12\/14\/no-partridges-today\/ https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pogo_(comic_strip)\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Miz Beaver on the 10th day of Christmas. Pogo comic strip.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The Twelve Days of Christmas&#8221; is among this season&#8217;s better-known songs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The version we sing has been around since 1909. The song existed in one form or another since at least the late 18th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A little clerical work shows there&#8217;s nothing odd about the lyrics. <strong>Literally.<\/strong> From the 12 partridges to the 12 drummers, <strong>there isn&#8217;t an odd number in the list:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Gifts in the &#8220;Twelve Days of Christmas&#8221;\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>12 Partridges (1 x 12 = 12)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>22 Doves (2 x 11 = 22)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>30 Hens (3 x 10 = 30)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>36 Calling birds (4 x 9 = 36)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>40 Golden rings (5 x 8 = 40)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>42 Geese (6 x 7 = 42)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>42 Swans (7 x 6 = 42)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>40 Maids (8 x 5 = 40)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>36 Ladies (9 x 4 = 36)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>30 Lords (10 x 3 = 30)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>22 Pipers (11 x 2 = 22)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>12 Drummers (12 x 1 = 12)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>364 gifts total<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Adding them all up, that&#8217;s 364 gifts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That&#8217;s just one less than the number of days in a year! Well, just one and just-shy-of-a-quarter days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All those numbers, along with a few coincidences, suggest that the song means something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But most folks have a knack for seeing patterns in pretty much anything. There&#8217;s a five-dollar word for that sort of thing \u2014 &#8220;the tendency to perceive meaningful connections between unrelated things&#8221; \u2014 apophenia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My guess is that &#8220;The Twelve Days of Christmas&#8221;, along with &#8220;Jingle Bells&#8221; and &#8220;White Christmas&#8221;, are songs we hear and sing during the Christmas season: but don&#8217;t have any particularly deep spiritual significance.<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/christmas-12-days-songs-lists-and-singing-mice\/#1\">1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That hasn&#8217;t kept folks from assigning meaning to the song&#8217;s birds and other gifts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a name=\"drummers\"><\/a>Drummers, Pipers, and Variable Birds<\/h4>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20250726ff\/20251224-The_Twelve_Days_of_Christmas_visualisation-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"CMG Lee's visualisation of the number of gifts received each day in 'The Twelve Days of Christmas'. Block textures are from a poster by Xavier Romero-Frias. see https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tetrahedral_number#Popular_culture\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>A few years ago, I ran into this rundown of what the gifts listed &#8220;The Twelve Days of Christmas&#8221; &#8216;really&#8217; are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A partridge in a pear tree\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Jesus<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Two turtle doves\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Old and New Testaments<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Three French hens\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Faith, hope, and love<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Four calling birds\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Five golden rings\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The first five books of the Old Testament, which describe man\u2019s fall into sin and the great love of God in sending a Savior<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Six geese a-laying\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The six days of creation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Seven swans a-swimming\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit: Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Eight maids a-milking\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The eight beatitudes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nine ladies dancing\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The nine fruits of the Holy Spirit: Charity, Joy, Peace, Patience (Forbearance), Goodness (Kindness), Mildness, Fidelity, Modesty, Continency (Chastity)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ten lords a-leaping\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Ten Commandments<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Eleven pipers piping\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The eleven faithful Apostles<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The twelve drummers drumming\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The twelve points of belief in The Apostles&#8217; Creed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>The numbers line up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the song&#8217;s assorted versions have replaced the eight maids a milking with hares a running, ladies dancing, hounds a running, and boys a singing, so I&#8217;m not convinced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As for the partridge: okay, maybe. But again, I&#8217;m not convinced. The bird, and how it relates to the tree, has varied:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Partridge in a pear-tree <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Parteridge in a pear tree <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Partridge upon a pear tree <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Partridge and a pear tree<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Partridge on a pear tree <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Merry partridge on a pear tree <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Very pretty peacock upon a pear tree<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Then there&#8217;s the tree in the first gift. It&#8217;s variable, too:<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/christmas-12-days-songs-lists-and-singing-mice\/#2\">2<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Part of a juniper tree <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Some part of a juniper tree\/and some part of a juniper tree<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The sprig of a juniper tree<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Goldie ring, and the part of a June apple tree<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a name=\"apostles\"><\/a>The Apostles&#8217; Creed as a 12-Point List<\/h4>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/merry-christmas\/#deckusall\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20201109ff\/20201127-WaltKellyDeckUsAllWithBostonCharlie-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"'Deck Us All With Boston Charlie', a partial rendition of Walt Kelly's Christmas song, in his 'Pogo' comic strip. (1948 or thereabouts)\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Don&#8217;t get me wrong. I think the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the Beatitudes, and the Gospels matter. I certainly think Jesus matters: a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Good grief, I&#8217;m a Christian. Of course I think Jesus matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But that doesn&#8217;t mean I think &#8220;The Twelve Days of Christmas&#8221; is a secret message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I do, however, think it&#8217;s a nice song: one that I sing occasionally. And it&#8217;s a part of this season that I enjoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I also think making lists can make sense when it comes to remembering stuff, so I broke the Apostle&#8217;s Creed out into a 12-point list:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Apostles Creed (from Catechism of the Catholic Church, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usccb.org\/sites\/default\/files\/flipbooks\/catechism\/50\/\">Credo<\/a>)\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>He descended to the dead<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>On the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>From there he will come again to judge the living and the dead<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>I believe in the Holy Spirit<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The forgiveness of sins<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The resurrection of the body<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>And the life everlasting<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Amen<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>But I&#8217;m guessing that making the list won&#8217;t change how I repeat it in prayers and the like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a name=\"christmases\"><\/a>Christmases, Change, and Constants<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20250726ff\/20251220-BackYardSnow-DSC09224-corr-658.JPG?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Brian H. Gill's photo: the household's back yard. (December 20, 2025)\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Saturday, December 20: looking hopeful for a white Christmas this year.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m dreaming of a white Christmas<br>\nJust like the ones I used to know<br>\nWhere the treetops glisten<br>\nAnd children listen<br>\nTo hear sleigh bells in the snow&#8230;.&#8221;<br>\n(&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.azlyrics.com\/lyrics\/bingcrosby\/whitechristmas.html\">White Christmas<\/a>&#8221; , Bing Crosby Lyrics, AZLyrics.com)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>I live in central Minnesota, so I don&#8217;t have to dream of white Christmases most years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since I was born during the Truman administration, recent Christmases aren&#8217;t &#8220;just like the ones I used to know&#8221;. Change happens. I&#8217;ve seen a great deal of it. Some changes were long-overdue. Some haven&#8217;t gone the way I hoped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But some things don&#8217;t change. Like human nature, which is still basically good. I&#8217;ve talked about that, and related ideas, before:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/christmas-still-celebrating-and-rejoicing\/\"><strong>Christmas: Still Celebrating and Rejoicing<\/strong><\/a>&#8221; (December 25, 2025)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/christmas-still-celebrating-and-rejoicing\/#celebrating\">Celebrating the Messiah and Lord&#8217;s Birth<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/the-grand-canyon-the-petrified-forest-and-the-big-picture\/\"><strong>The Grand Canyon, the Petrified Forest, and the Big Picture<\/strong><\/a>&#8221; (March 22, 2025)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/the-grand-canyon-the-petrified-forest-and-the-big-picture\/#big\">The Big Picture<\/a>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/the-grand-canyon-the-petrified-forest-and-the-big-picture\/#free\">Free Will, Living With Consequences, a Good Idea, and Very Good News<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/12-days-of-christmas-plus-1\/\"><strong>12 Days of Christmas, Plus 1<\/strong><\/a>&#8221; (January 4, 2020)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/12-days-of-christmas-plus-1\/#song\">A Song and Celebrations<\/a>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/12-days-of-christmas-plus-1\/#gifts\">Gifts, Quacking Ducks and Assorted Origins<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/12-days-of-christmas-plus-1\/#geese\">Geese a-laying, Leaping Lords and Pipers Piping<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/12-days-of-christmas-plus-1\/#perceptions\">Perceptions and the Catechism&#8217;s Subdivisions<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/12-days-of-christmas-plus-1\/#turning\">Turning Toward the Light<\/a>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/12-days-of-christmas-plus-1\/#we\">&#8220;We Saw His Star&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/12-days-of-christmas-plus-1\/#herods\">Herod&#8217;s Solution<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/12-days-of-christmas-plus-1\/#magi\">&#8220;Magi From the East&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/12-days-of-christmas-plus-1\/#just\">&#8220;Just the Beginning of a Great Procession&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-black-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-black-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><sup><a name=\"1\"><\/a>1<\/sup> Seasonal songs, impalpable patterns, and a unit of time:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Wikipedia\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Apophenia\">Apophenia<\/a> (recognizing patterns that aren&#8217;t there)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jingle_Bells\">Jingle Bells<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pareidolia\">Pareidolia<\/a> (a particular sort of apophenia)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Twelve_Days_of_Christmas_(song)\">The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/White_Christmas_(song)\">White Christmas (song)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Year\">Year<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><sup><a name=\"2\"><\/a>2<\/sup> More than you need, or may want, to know about:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Wikipedia\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cumulative_song\">Cumulative song<\/a> (Like &#8220;The Twelve Days of Christmas&#8221; and &#8220;There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly&#8221;)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tetrahedral_number\">Tetrahedral number<\/a>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tetrahedral_number#Popular_culture\">Popular culture<\/a> (364 is the 12th tetrahedral number)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/There_Was_an_Old_Lady_Who_Swallowed_a_Fly\">There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Twelve_Days_of_Christmas_(song)\">The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/resources\/advent\/customs-and-traditions\/the-history-of-the-twelve-days-of-christmas\">The History of &#8216;The Twelve Days of Christmas&#8217;<\/a>&#8221; <br>Original Source: Fr. Calvin Goodwin, FSSP, Nebraska. Printed with permission from Catholic Tradition. Catholic News Agency<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/athdio.ca\/news\/the-twelve-days-of-christmas\">The Twelve Days of Christmas<\/a>&#8221; <br>Submitted by Dianne Golob, Diocesan Archivist, The Synod of the Diocese of Athabasca (December 12, 2025)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is a very &#8216;Catholic&#8217; household. But everything we do isn&#8217;t uniquely &#8216;Catholic&#8217;, or something Catholics must always do. Take those mice, for example. My wife made them from bits of felt and cloth some years back, and they&#8217;ve been &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/christmas-12-days-songs-lists-and-singing-mice\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"Drummers, pipers, variable birds and The Twelve Days of Christmas. The Apostles Creed as a 12 point list. Human nature, Christmas.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"Christmas: 12 Days, Songs, Lists, and Singing Mice","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[215,154,239,209],"tags":[109,52,84,90,69],"class_list":["post-9798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-being-catholic","category-discursive-detours","category-family-stories","category-series","tag-christmas","tag-culture","tag-family","tag-holidays","tag-jesus"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7Dwtw-2y2","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9798"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9798\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9799,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9798\/revisions\/9799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}