The pagan holiday we replaces Christman with was a Roman Holiday, a multi day celebration called Saturnalia.

Theres a good reason all thes religions hold their holidays around the same time of year, basically for conversion.

My point is, if there a push for a population, either by a conquerer or social trend, to convert people to a different religion, more than likely they will still practice their old traditions from their previous religion, unless there are other holidays and traditions to take their place around the same time of year.

Thus we get rammadam, Chanuka, and christmas all about the same time.

Interesting sidenote: The celebration of our religious holidays have become sort of secular. . . I woudl wager even atheists and others who don't paritcularly care much for christianity go through the silly tree and present thing (how bout it MarryAnne? do you?). . . its gotten sort of 'secular'. After all the vatican didn't come out with a rule book on christmas decorations and customs. Rather these are local customs we have here in America. . . in fact during chanuka presents are distributed over eight days. . . They sure didn't start out doing that. looking at how something like Christma s can become more 'secular' it is easy to see how indigenous people will still stick to old 'pagan' customs and practices while technically ther are of a 'different religion'.

-Justin Kelly