Interesting. I'll have to look into this further.

Honestly, though, as a Christian I've never had a problem with our holidays having roots in pagan (or other non-Christian) traditions.

Think about it: you are a "conquering" religion, spreading in new regions. This new country has traditions. The wise man doesn't stamp out those traditions (though modern Evangelicals kinda suck because they do) but rather they incorporate their religious practices into existing celebrations.

And maybe influence them from the inside (e.g. those orgies have got to go...eventually).

Even the letters from Paul show how these practices were incorporated into Christianity (or vice-versa) and we saw his frustration with people "backsliding", but he knew the importance of incorporation.

Or, as some people love to cry at the top of their lungs today, "CULTURAL APPROPRIATION!!!!"

Honestly, I kinda HOPE that we integrated/infiltrated these other practices. Shows we can grow.

Well, "could", once upon a time.