Watched a couple shows about it on TV and dug up some interesting reading online. Taking nothing away from what today means for Christians, it is a fascinating discussion on how Christmas Day actually came to be.

Pretty much the short version was when Pope Sixtus III held the first official Christ Mass on December 25th, which was picked to counter the Pagan holy day on the 25th which honored the god Mithras as well as Roman god Sol.

As far as the actual birthday of Christ, from what I've read and watched, the exact date is closer to around September 29th in the year 5 B.C.

Now this would be a nice way to shake up the commercialization of the holiday and just about every other tradition, to go to the actual Birthday date - but that is like telling a 4 year old the truth behind Santa.

Just some food for thought. Personally I wouldn't change a thing because this day is more than just the celebration of one religious groups Messiah. It has a far reaching, moral story line behind it that connects more than just Christians.