Along with all the griping going on about the so-called "War on Christmas," we've been seeing a lot of wagging fingers reminding us at every opportunity to remember the "Reason for the Season," and inevitably, these folks are referring to Jesus. The truth is, not very many of the traditions associated with Christmas are Christian- or have anything to do with the birth of Jesus.

The world's oldest and most universally popular holiday celebration has always centered around the winter solstice- marked by the ancients as the birthday of the sun- after which the days get progressively longer, warmer, and more temperate. In cold climates, this celebration was a very welcome break from the monotony of cramped quarters, lean meals, and frayed nerves. In ancient Rome, the largest holiday was the Saturnalia, in honor of the harvest god Saturn. Not many people today have even heard of Saturnalia, or know that most of their holiday customs are directly descended from that most ancient ancient holiday season.

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