http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,318012,00.htmlhttp://de.essortment.com/christmaspagan_rece.htmIt is ironic that a religion based on the first rule (No gods before me) still celebrates the birth of the Roman sun god (Andrea Carandini [edit]is not the Roman Sun god, read following posts because I'm 'special.'[/edit]), hall evergreens just like the Druids to celebrate the power of theirs gods over winter, ring bells to ward off evil spirits, tossing Yule logs in the fire in celebration of the Nordic sun god, give gifts like celts did to their animals, light candles (xmas lights) to remind us the sun will shine again... most of Christmas including the date was selected so the masses of the Roman Empire would celebrate the new holiday without complaint - because it was really just the old holidays celebrating winter solstice and pagan gods.
In the end, the planning worked to a tee. We now cut trees to honor the ever lasting life of Jesus, we ring bells to celebrate his sacrifice, toss in yule logs to share the light and warmth of the Lord, have lights on our house and have great feasts on December 25th because that was the day Jesus was born on. Possible the most successful plan a government ever put in place as it replaced old traditions and lives on 1700 years later.
People have been celebrating the winter Solstice around the world for a long, long time. It takes nothing away from the celebration nor what it means to you, just an interesting side note to remember where our traditions came from and see where they are going (massive gift giving is a much more recent trend, xmas lights overtook candles, etc ).
Enjoy the holidays, whatever you celebrate. [
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(in politics for fear of some taking it as a desire to start a flame war)