"Certain popular
holidays, such as Yule, and customs such as lighting
candles and offering small sacrifices under certain holy trees could
not be easily suppressed, so they were given new meanings. Yuletide rituals were incorporated into
Christmas. The candles were lit to remember Christ as light of the
world. The holy
offerings came to symbolize the gifts the wise men brought."
-
The Solstice Evergreen: The History, Folklore and Origins of the Christmas Tree, by Sheryl
Ann Karas (Fairfield: Aslan Publishing, 1998). p. 91
"1st century
believers, taught personally by Christ, did not celebrate His
birthday. 2nd century theologians condemned the thought. Only
after severe persecution, destruction and inaccessibility
of biblical scripture and the blending of pagan doctrine with
the worship of God was the Mithraic celebration of December 25th
proclaimed to be "Christian" in nature."
- Christmas, by Richard Rives, (http://www.toolong.com/pages/christmas.htm)