The Twelve Days of Christmas is believed to be referring to the time The Magi took to visit The Christ child in Bethlehem. These lyrics were supposedly written when the Roman Catholics were being severely persecuted by the Protestants in England. The monasteries were looted and closed, priests were exiled, and forbidden to congregate with the common people. However, many brave priests returned and met secretively and sought to teach what they perceived to be the basic principles of the Christian Faith.