Misunderstood Tradition Just Wanting To Be Understood

We all know the song, "The 12 Days of Christmas". We've recognized it since infancy, it's quite the catchy tune, that ultimately people know what "My True Love gave to me" for at least most of the days. However, often, if not always, this tradition is completely misunderstood, misinterpreted and miscelebrated. I remember my mother doing the 12 Days of Christmas for family members or friends, always beginning on the 14th of December and going to Christmas Day. I saw no problem with this, as this is how everyone celebrated it.
It wasn't until the Christmas of 2005 that a dear friend of mine, Cassandra, opened my eyes and educated me on the origin of this tradition and when it truly should be celebrated. She was quite passionate about it, and I have too become quite passionate about educating all the world of the TRUE tradition of the Twelve Days of Christmas. This event BEGINS on the evening of Christmas Day (December 25) and goes through January 6, which is Twelfth Night (ever heard of a play by William Shakespeare?). This period of the 12 days is known as Christmastide. The 12 days has its origins in the pre-Christian Scandinavian Winter Solstice, in which the Midwinter Feast lasted at least twelve days, hence the twelve days of Christmas. Currently, the 12 days and nights are celebrated in widely varying ways around the world. For example, some give gifts only on Christmas night, some only on Twelfth Night, and some each of the 12 nights. To me this all makes more sense for the 12 Days of Christmas. We get to celebrate the greatest holiday of the year for much longer, and we get to hav some sort of a holiday in January. And this is how I shall celebrate it from here on. Just like Cassandra, I like it better that way.