... My true love gave to me 8 maids a-milking, 7 swans a-swimming, 6 geese-a-laying, 5 golden rings, 4 colly birds, 3 French hens, 2 turtle doves, and partridge in a pear tree.
So I guess the 8 maids a-milking are representative of the 8 beatitudes of the Catholic faith. I'm not real sure what a beatitude is, but according to this, it is the 8 required times of the year that a Catholic must receive Holy Communion.
I have no idea why the original song would say "8 maids a-milking", if in fact it did. It seems likely that maybe once upon a time this verse was filled with some sort of bird, but I have no evidence of that, and only suspicions! Perhaps, milk is what was traditionally drank on the twelfth night, but once again I'm only guessing at this particular verse's significance.
KJ Fact: I use to only drink skim milk, now I only drink whole milk; it's so much better!
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