The whole pagan thing is an old wives' tale. Martin Luther started it when he saw the beauty of the stars shining behind the tall trees, snow-covered. He wrote a poem about it. Not too long thereafter Germans were putting candles in trees as "stars". Needless to say, candles in trees are not exactly safe, so naturally Christmas lights followed thereafter.
No doubt this is going to spark a bunch of debate over the origin of Christmas, but I'm sticking to it. And those people who can't stand calling it a Christmas tree can kiss my behind, as far as I'm concerned. A spade is a spade, and a tree is a tree.
