Ever been told that Christmas is a pagan holiday? Here’s some good info from Christian History magazine about why Dec 25th. Tim Challies posted this summary from the article:

December 25 already hosted two other related festivals: natalis solis invicti (the Roman “birth of the unconquered sun”), and the birthday of Mithras, the Iranian “Sun of Righteousness” whose worship was popular with Roman soldiers. The winter solstice, another celebration of the sun, fell just a few days earlier. Seeing that pagans were already exalting deities with some parallels to the true deity, church leaders decided to commandeer the date and introduce a new festival.

Western Christians first celebrated Christmas on December 25 in 336, after Emperor Constantine had declared Christianity the empire’s favored religion.

I like this quote:

“We hold this day holy, not like the pagans because of the birth of the sun, but because of him who made it.”

~ a theologian in 320AD.