Here is the ninth piece in my ongoing series for The Twelve Days of Christmas. As I work my way through the song, the paintings are certainly getting trickier with so many figures to capture on one canvas! Here, the nine ladies are swirling across a chequered floor in an imaginary ballroom, each lost in her own reverie as the festive celebrations come to life.

December, and Christmas in particular, is a time when music, dancing, and joyful celebrations take centre stage, and this verse carries some wonderful layers of meaning. Christian tradition often associates the nine ladies with the nine Fruits of the Spirit from the Book of Galatians, and Classical folklore links them to the nine Muses of Greek mythology. Local legend in Derbyshire even connects the verse to the ancient Nine Ladies Stone Circle on Stanton Moor, high above the River Derwent.

As previously mentioned, the song itself likely began as a lively memory-and-forfeits game played by children on Twelfth Night.