The Rev Ian Black, Vicar of St Mary's, Whitkir, has produced an e-book about The Twelve Days of Christmas.

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He says it seemed to be a nonsense song from the 1700s but there was
more to it than that.

"I stumbled across the urban myth of what the song is about," said Mr Black, "and wanted to know more. The myth suggests it is an early way of teaching the Christian faith - the strange gifts of each day standing for a key tenet of the faith.

"While the origin of this spiritual decodiung is not clear, it definitely works!

"I have added to it by writing about what each day stands for. For instance, seven swans a-swimming can be interpreted as the seven sacraments of Christianity.

"Four calling birds are the four gospels and four evangelists. The partridge in a pear tree can be interpreted as Jesus who was sent by God ("my true love")."

Mr Black says he has an interest in the Internet and wanted to see how an e-book worked. So he has written about 30,000 words which can be downloaded for £4 from www.twelvedaysofchristmas.co.uk. A portion of the proceeds will go to St Mary's.

"A few people have already accessed it," he said, "but some people may not like the idea of a book on screen. It is not dumbed down but I hope it provides an imaginative way to look at the Christian faith."

When it is printed out, it fills 144 pages of A4.

Mr Black, 45, vicar at Whitkirk for six years and a married man with two children, has previously published a book of prayers connected to the calendar of saints and holy days.