“For a fact, the Christians stole Christmas. We don't mind sharing it with them, but we don't like this pretense of theirs that it is the birthday of Jesus. It is the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun--Dies Natalis Invicti Solis. Christmas is a relic of sun worship.
The customs of this time of year endure because they are pleasant customs. It's fun to hear from distant family and friends, to gather, to feast, to sing. Gifts, as Robert Ingersoll once said, are evidences of friendship, of remembrance, of love.
The evergreens displayed now as in centuries past flourish when all else seems dead, and are symbols, as is the returning sun, of enduring life.
In celebrating the Winter Solstice, we celebrate reality.”
-- Anne Nicol Gaylor, president emerita, Freedom From Religion Foundation. Speech written for the 8th annual Winter Solstice Party, New Jersey chapter of FFRF, Dec. 22, 1985. (Freethought Today, Jan/Feb 1986)
http://ffrf.org/day/