There is a rumour that the popular Christmas song "The 12 Days of Christmas" was actually written as a memory device for Christians to remember and recite doctrine.

The rumour says that beginning in the 1500's, Catholics in England were not allowed to practice their faith openly, so "The Twelve Days of Christmas" became a secret catechism. Several suggestions are listed as to what doctrines the verses actually represented.

The website Truth or Fiction has looked at this and says that the claim is false and that there are several sources that list the song as being of probable French origin. The most notable is the prestigious New Oxford Book of Carols which not only cites the French roots of the song, but says it is based on a game that children would play on the Twelfth Night, the eve of Epiphany. In the game, each child would have to try to remember and recite the objects that were said by a previous child. If successful, the child would add another object to the list for the next contestant to recite. If not, the child dropped out. The game would continue until there was a winner.