What's "Pagan" ?

This time of year, you hear some say that Christmas is "pagan" and it is wrong to celebrate Christmas with Christmas trees, as Saturnalia was when pagans lit up trees with candles to encourage the sun to return? Would putting up lights and other decorations also qualify as pagan practices?
They are probably thinking of Deuteronomy 12:28-32. Someone probably once told them that this verse applied to Christmas (for had they simply read the Bible I doubt whether they would have made such an application).
The passage in Deuteronomy says nothing about Jesus, nothing about the birth of God in the flesh. What it does condemn, if read in its context, is burning children in the fire as sacrifices to gods.
If one were to extend this principle to Christianity, then Christians would do very little, if anything, in terms of worship. All days of the week bear the names of pagan gods, so meeting on any day might be construed as worshipping the one true God on the "wrong" -- i.e. pagan -- day.
Perhaps it would help to know that God himself, in giving worship ceremonies and practices to the Jews, made use of already existing festivals/ceremonies/symbols. The vast majority of the existing worship patterns and symbols before God brought Israel out of Egypt were pagan (that is polytheist -- based upon those who recognized and obeyed many gods, rather than one God).
So, for example, if one examines the high holy days of Israel of the old covenant, and then studies history and anthropology, one will find many similarities. So many similarities that atheists and agnostics use this fact in an attempt to to devalue the unique claims of the Bible.
But God never said anywhere in the Bible, old or new covenant, that all symbols, seasons, days and ceremonies had to be somehow completely unique. The meaning and significance is of course unique, but not the elements. We know that from the old covenant festivals and worship practices, which had precursors in paganism.
So obviously God is not condemning, here in Deuteronomy, something He Himself had done. Some use Jeremiah chapter 10 as a condemnation of Christmas trees. But the practice of using a Christmas tree to honor the birth of Jesus did not exist for up to 1,500 years after the time of Jeremiah.
The purpose of Christmas is to worship and celebrate Jesus. As Christians we are free to celebrate the birth of Jesus anytime we want. In my experience no one who says that we should not celebrate His birth on December 25 (or in early January as Orthodox Christians do) actually suggests an alternate time. I can only conclude that some do not wish to celebrate the birth of my Lord at all! What a strange idea — being a Christian and not celebrating Jesus' birth!?
But again, if someone wishes to do so in July, then fine, do so. And if families choose not to have a tree, or not to have decorations to welcome the newborn King, or not to exchange presents for some reason, or not to sing any or some Christmas carols, etc. etc. -- all of this is optional. It's not the reason for the season. Jesus is.

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