Christmas: Pagan or Christian Celebration?

              Now  the question  is: is it  impossible for God to bring  something  good  out  of that  which  is evil?  Let me   give an example of what I mean. There was  a certain village which   had  members who  almost  belonged  to one  and  the only religious denomination was  introduced into  the village. This new church which  came  with  miracles and visions and prophesies  attracted  ninety- five  percent  of  those  who  belonged  to the former church  so that  when  the question  of  where to cite the  new  church arose, all  the “converts” unanimously agreed that  the former church building be used. In this way  the majority  carried  the vote and the former  denomination’s building automatically became a new church  and nobody  saw anything  wrong  with that. Although  I was  asking  a question about  something  good  coming  from something  evil, the above  example  holds especially  as it affects the  present issue. History  informs  us that  Gregory  the Great himself  had advised  his missionaries  to “baptize” the customs  and  the holy places of the  heathen while  converting  them. Although celebration like Christmas, all saints day  and the feast  of St. John the Baptist all  have  pagan  origins, these  feasts are sanctified  forever: they  no longer  commemorate the Persian god or the sacrificial  bull, nor  even  the sun  regaining  his forces through darkness of the night. If God has willed that the worshipping of the sun god be turned  into worshipping  of the son of God through  the instrumentality  of His church , we should  be happy  that the pagans  of the Roman Empire  have  been  brought  out from darkness to light.