actually, holidays such as christmas and easter originally were set on the calendar to coincide with pagan beliefs to try and fool pagans into thinking that they were christian because the two holidays would always occur at the same time. we celebrate yule which has very similar tradition in conparison to christmas as in having the large dinner with pork and other goodies, the sprig of holly hung above a doorway, even tree ornaments which act as house protection amulets. yule is also the winter solstice. easter occurs around the same time as mabon, which is the spring equinox, and is when we dance around a maypole which represents fertility.
i have to stop posting for tonight because i'm at the library and they're almost closed. i'll post more on this tomorrow if you'd like me to.