A stick-up-the-ass article about how Christmas is a “pagan abomination” called The History & Traditions Of Christmas. A few good passages though:

December 25th BEFORE Christ
Prior to the celebration of Christmas, December 25th (the winter solstice) was celebrated in Babylon as the birthday of Tammuz the sun god. In Egypt he was Horas and in Rome and Persia he was Mithra the “sun of righteousness.” All of these cultures were regarding the so called immaculate conception of the “sun god.” The basis of this celebration can be traced back to the kingdom of Nimrod.
After an incestuous relationship between Beltis, Nimrod’s wife and one of her sons Tammuz was born. Tammuz was claimed to be the reincarnation of Nimrod “god incarnate.” (Tammuz was said to be “the beginning and end, therefore immortal. Yet this so called pagan god of the sun was merely a mortal who was eventually killed by a wild boar.) This is the origin of the worship of the “Mother and Child.” Because of this, Beltis the mother of Tammuz, became known as “the mother’s husband -mother of god - queen of heaven.” This fable has been the basis of pagan worship on this date throughout history. This information can be found in most any encyclopedia.

December 25th AFTER Christ
Saturnalia “a roman holiday” from December 17th to the 24th was a week long festival with torch light processions, gift-giving and merry-making culminating in a winter solstice feast on December 25th, called Natilis Solis Invicti “the birth of the unconquerable sun,” meaning that now the sun begins to increase it’s strength after it had been at its lowest ebb. The approach of the feast was started with the Pontiff standing in front of Saturn’s temple exclaiming “Ho Saturnalia! Ho Saturnalia! Ho Saturnalia!” (Sounds a little like our modern Ho Ho Ho doesn’t it?) In 375 A.D. the Roman Catholic Church (which began the merging of paganism with Christianity) announced that the birth date of Christ would be celebrated on December 25th also. Thus many of the pagan traditions such as gift giving, feasting, merry making and (sun) rise services were incorporated into a new tradition called “Christmas.

…According to Babylonian tradition, Nimrod was transformed into a fir tree at death as was his son, Tammuz. The term ‘Yule’ is Chaldee for child. In medieval Germany the people worshipped a variant on that name, Tiwaz. When their prayers for victory were answered they hung the heads and spoils of those they killed in battle on the trees in their sacred groves. This is the origin of hanging ornaments on Christmas trees.”

I don’t know if I believe that’s the real origin of ornaments, but I certainly do like the image!