The history of Christmas is a bit more, uh, textured than you might have thought. Check out the 20 December ‘04 New York Observer article, A ghost of Christmas Past haunts today’s work force by Nicholas Von Hoffman.
Full of fascinating stuff. For example, did you know:
In 1659, Massachusetts outlawed Christmas. A five-shilling fine was to be imposed on anybody “found observing any such day as Christmas or the like, either by forbearing of labor, feasting or any other way.”
… or that Christmas used to be a destructive yearly riot? Or that our modern Santa Claus was imported by the founder of the New York Historical Society in an attempt at social engineering? It’s a fun read – check it out. (A toast of Christmas ‘nog to The Revealer for this one.)