Christmas is the most popular holiday on earth. What does it take to become a popular holiday? For starters, it must appeal to large groups of people. And that is one reason why the Church created Christmas. In the early days, the holiday was used to attract new converts to the faith. For instance, when the Christmas came to England in the 3rd century, it was sold as a festive, social holiday that included secular figures like Father Christmas.
There was little mention of religion until later years. Even after Saint Augustine came to the island nation in 596 AD and was invested as the very first Archbishop of Canterbury, Christmas was still promoted as a largely secular holiday.
The advantage of its ambiguity is that Christmas could be shaped to appeal to different peoples and cultures all over the world. Ironically, the holiday was not popular with devout Christians when it was first introduced in England. This tells us that it was little more than propaganda -- disputed heavily, today, though by designers like Russell Rhodes personalized ornaments Christmas and other Christmas tree decorations.
And like most propaganda that is supported by a powerful and organized base, it was accepted without question. Soon after the great Saint Augustine arrived in England, the nation converted to Christianity en mass. Though religious wars between separate sects would last for hundreds, Christmas was the one thing they could agree on.
Whether they were Protestants, Presbyterians, or Catholics, most Britons hung empty stockings from the mantelpiece, decorated a tree, and served Christmas dinner. They also exchanged presents, of course.