Are Easter and Christmas “Pagan” Holidays?

Digging in to a Common Idea about how Religions Interact

Every year, especially around Easter and Christmas, a wide variety of memes, social media posts, and cheeky discussions at holiday gatherings assert one simple fact over and over: that Christmas and Easter, the two most important Christian holidays, are not really Christian at all, but repackaged Pagan holidays. These claims are usually intended to open the eyes of those who believe their religion descended from the sky wholly formed, to make them see that religions, like everything else, are constructed culturally. Sometimes these claims are used by right-wing Christians to denounce things like Christmas trees and Easter Eggs. And sometimes, people just say or post them to get under the skin of a religious relative or friend (to which I would say, if you get mad when someone tells you that Jesus never hid Easter Eggs of hung Stockings, you need thicker skin). So, is it true? Are the two most important holidays of the Christian calendar actually pagan holidays?

The short answer: No

Well, actually, the short answer is, kinda.

The addendum to the short answer is: stop trying to find short answers to questions about religious history.