85% of people in this country celebrate "christmas" and/or christians. 42% of people elected Bill Clinton president so why can't 85% call it christmas? also, why do we have Santa Clause, when everyone knows he has nothing to do with the birth of christ "biblically". I think this might help explain things, since "most of us white folk have ancestors from the region.
I had to look this up. It's isn't the American Santa Claus story by far...

In the fourth century a.d. St. Nicholas (in dutch called "Sinterklaas" or "Sint Nicolaas"; in german called "Sankt Nikolaus") was the bishop of Myra, which is now situated in Turkey. According to the legend, he saved his town from starvation. He is also said to have revived three dead children, and to have offered gifts of dowries to poor girls. Some sources say that he died on the sixth of December in 343. In 1087 his relics were taken to Bari in Italy. It is unclear why, according to the Dutch tradition, he comes from Spain. Possibly it has something to do with the fact that St. Nicholas was the patron of sailors. In the 17th century Holland was famous for its navigation. Maybe by contact with Spanish sailors this myth began. It could also explain why St. Nicholas has "zwarte (black) pieten" to help him because the Moors dominated Spain for several hundreds of years. (Another [more popular] explanation for "zwarte piet" being black is that he has come down the chimneys so often [see below] that he can't wash the dirt off.)

His legendary gifts of dowries to poor girls led to the custom of giving gifts to children on the eve of his feast day, 6 December. The companions of St. Nicholas (in Germany and Austria they are called "Knecht Ruprecht" or "Krampus") show the victory over evil. Together with his "pieten" he visits children to punish the evil ones and to reward the good ones. The worst punishment is to be taken to Spain in "zwarte piet's" bag out of which the good children get the sweets (called "pepernoten", "taai-taai", or "schuimpjes") and presents. A less radical punishment is to get the "roede" (rod) instead of presents. Nowadays there are not much evil children any more...

A few weeks before his feastday St. Nicholas comes to Holland (and Belgium) on his steamer with all his "pieten" and the presents which they prepared in Spain during the year. This event can be seen on Dutch television. From his arrival in Holland till his feastday the children can put their shoes in front of the fireplace. During the night St. Nicholas visits all the houses by travelling over the roofs on his horse, traditionally a white/grey (called "Schimmel" in dutch), and "zwarte piet" enters the houses through the chimney to put little presents in the children's shoes. Sometimes the children put straw, carrots and water near the shoe for the horse.

On the eve of his feast day St. Nicholas visits all children. After knocking on the door he gives them a bag full of presents (if they were good children). Early in the morning of 6 December, when he has visited everyone, he leaves and goes back silently to Spain, to come back next year.

More at...
http://www-astro.physics.ox.ac.uk/%7...sint/sint.html

now I rant... it;s a christmas tree! not a holiday tree, not a manora(spelling) tree or a kwanza(which is completly made up) tree! take christmas completely out of everything there is no TREE! this wouldn't happen anywhere else in the world. imagine you're in Thailand or any Buhddist country and you go to the local court house and you got to the local court house and tell the judge that you want to sue the gov't for having a giant golden buddah in public desplay or you live in india you tell someone that the cow in front of your building is offensive because of it's religous implications. you'll probally get bitch slapped. btw comparing "pagan rituals" to christian or anyother religous form of worship is just a backhanded way to belittle said religon by equating it to a bunch of savages dancing around a fire sacrificing a goat to the harvest god. so stuff that. I don't feeling like quoting parts of peoples posts and all that crap so I'll just say that those of you whom said, "no where in the bible does it say we should worship the birth of christ" you are correct. Does it say in the declairation of indepedence that we should "celebrate" the 4th of July? no it does not. the birth of christ is kinda of a big deal to christians. so they chose to celebrate it by giving gifts like the 3 wise men did and getting the family together, blah, blah.

if you didn't want to read all the crap I've posted above that's fine I understand, I'll just say this, "if you don't want to call it a christmas tree and call dec. 25th christmas. feel free toounch the time clock and go to work. so you won't be forced to "celebrate" it by the horriable christians.