What is the reason for the season?

The majority of my friends (and family) consider themselves to be Christian.  I do not find that offensive and I am grateful that they have faith a spirit which is all-knowing and greater than us.  But for some reason, lately I have found it kind of offensive to my beliefs when I read and hear things like "Christ is the reason for the season" and "it's Merry Christmas - NOT Happy Holidays".  Before I get a bunch of angry comments and a bunch of people defriend - let me tell you why I have been feeling offended.  I grew up in a Roman Catholic home.  I was baptized, made my first communion and even took part in Confirmation.  I went to a private, catholic elementary school.  When I became pregnant, I planned to baptize my child into the catholic church and I was ready to raise her with the same religion that my parents raised me.  But that changed at the age of 25 when the Catholic Church which I was a member of shunned me due to my circumstances on becoming the greatest gift in the world - a mother.  Because I believed in the principles that the Bible teaches (morality, love one another, thou shalt not kill, etc) I turned to a Disciples of Christ church - non-denominational, christian-based fellowship - in which I dedicated my child to.  Then, I began to see the same hypocrisy in that fellowship as I experienced in that Catholic Church.  I began to see (and hear) the pure hatred that these "Christians" had for other religions and other beliefs.  One of the core principles that I learned in 2nd grade religion class with Mrs. Wilke at St. Mary Catholic School was "God loves everyone. God takes care of all of us.  We shall love one another and be kind to one another."  As an adult, I began to see the pure hatred that others have for one another. And I began to see that by nature, human beings are loving, caring, nurturing and supportive - but add radical, deeply religious brainwashing - that you have a bunch of people at odds with each other.  Throughout history, different religions have forged some kind of war against another religion - whether is is Christians vs Muslims, Jewish vs. Chrisitian, Paganism vs. Catholicism - for thousands of years, believers of one religion have attempted to persecute believers of a religion different from theirs.  Over the last few years, my beliefs have gotten stronger because I have enjoyed learning the history of the belief.  I have learned that my chosen path is considered the Oldest Religion in the world and have learned that each and every Sabbat that is celebrated in the Christian faith was derived from the Celebrations and Festivals for the Sabbats which are celebrated by Pagans all over the world.  Why then does the christian church (using this term to describe all followers of Christ's teachings) teach it's parishioners that Pagans are "Satan Worshippers" and "Sinners"?  Why are there so many "Christians" that believe that Christ is the reason for "Season" and that Christ rose from the dead on Easter?  Are the MAJORITY of Christians aware that their "holy days" like Christmas and Easter were derived from Pagan customs?  Do they know that Easter, Lent and the events surrounding it fall directly in line with the Pagan celebrations of Oestara (the Spring Equinox)?  Do they know that all of the traditions that are practiced during the "Christmas Season" are those that were originally celebrated by Pagans in honor of  Mabon (Autumn Equinox), Samahain (pronounced sow-en and is celebrated as Halloween) and Yule (Winter Solstice) - which are celebrated from approximately Septemeber 21st through December 21st.

So, in truth - Christ is not the reason for the Season.  Jesus Christ was the "son of God" - he was not God - therefore, he did not created the earth, the moon and the stars.  God created all of these.  In a world where we are striving for peace among all nations and all religions - why then do members of the Christian faith continue to attempt to chastise and degrade the beliefs and practices of the worlds other religions?  In fact, there is no place in the Old or the New Testament that states that Christ was born December 25th - in contrast there is possibly evidence to prove otherwise.

My wish is that followers of other religions would take time to learn the fundamentals about each other's faiths.  I am not against Christianity - and in fact I do agree with a lot of the teachings of the bible - but I am against hypocrisy and bullying.