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Perhaps...but whether the tree is fake or real, the real question is - what does the tree represent? Yes, its a tradition...as are the cards we send, gift giving, decorating in the colors of red and green, and the mistletoe. But are these traditions rooted in the pagan celebration, Winter Solstice? If not, where did they come from? Since they are not mentioned in the Bible, how did they become associated with the birth of Christ?

I have a Jehovah's Witness friend who does not celebrate Christmas (or birthdays even!) because of their pagan roots. She says that celebrating such "traditions" takes away from the real meaning of Christmas - the birth of Christ. While I can appreciate her integrity and her devotion to her religion, I can't imagine not celebrating the season the way my family has always done and to her credit - she has never pressured me to do it her way.

Still, I do feel conflicted about the whole thing. From all I've read, my friend is correct. Many of our holiday celebrations come from ancient pagan celebrations. However, I do not believe these celebrations were rooted in evil or devil worship but were more nature-oriented. The pagans seemed to celebrated the changing seasons, fertility, generosity, etc etc. All good things as far as I'm concerned...

How did Pagans get such a bad reputation? According to their websites, they don't believe in the devil or hell. So how did they get the "devil worshipper" stamp?

One could argue that the Pagans were simply misunderstood and were generally good people. Thus celebrating their Winter Solstice traditions do no harm to anyone.

But if you believe the pagans were in fact "devil worshippers" then doesn't celebrating their traditions kind of make you a part of that? Or am I looking to deeply into this?

What do you tell your kids about Christmas traditions that are not in the Bible when they ask where they come from? Since I have two very inquisitive kids (Who ask WHY WHY WHY to everything!), I've found myself starting sentences with, "Well, some people believe...." and I suggest they form their own opinions.

Years ago, a very religious friend of mine sent via e-mail a story about the candy cane. The story claimed the origin of the candy cane came about as a form of identification among Christians during a time of persecution. Naturally curious, I checked into the story and found several factual errors. I sent her back an e-mail telling her what I'd found out and she actually got mad at me saying her pastor told her congregation that story in his sermon and she would continue to tell it to her children because it was a "nice story". Needless to say, I was really shocked. Hoping to open up a discussion with her, I asked her if it was OK to lie in the name of Jesus. She never answered me and we never discussed it again.

Anyway, my point is this:
God felt so strongly about bearing false witness - he put that in stone. I would think that telling your children that our Christmas traditions are rooted in Christ or even something as simple as passing along a false candy cane story is not only bearing false witness but also taking the Lord's name in vain. Would the Lord want to be credited with a Pagan celebration? I think not.

Perhaps this "Pagan Christmas Ritual" workshop will open up some sort of discussion between the kids who are allowed to attend, their parents and clergy.

Sorry this was so long - would appreciate your thoughts...