[Ichneumon]

What else have these ignorant excuses discovered that everyone else (over 40) has know all their lives?

Gee, you actually already knew the details about how, when, and by whom the pre-Christian holiday originated, and the Christian holiday was linked to it? Somehow I don't think so.

Yes, most people know that the Christian holiday co-opted the pre-existing pre-Christian holiday. But the above article adds to our knowledge about the exact manner in which that occurred.

Why does this make you cranky?

[steplock]

Why does this make me cranky? Add this incrememtal jab on religion (that's the real reason for this story!) alongside with......

Antonio Gramsci:
< excerpt >

...E. Both Capitalism and Judaeo-Christian culture must be destroyed before a Communist revolution can succeed

......1. Religious sentiment cannot be destroyed through legislation, as Lenin believed, but must be redirected from the divine to the state

.........a. Terror will only drive Religion underground

.........b. Religion will then reemerge when Leninism fails

.........c. So Religion must be destroyed in the minds of men

......2. Infiltrate religious academies and become priests and clergymen

.........a. Subtly promote heresy within religious organizations

.........b. Infiltrators must act so as to discredit the church

............(1) Cause financial and sexual scandals

............(2) See that this is given a high profile in the news

............(3) Like-minded infiltrators in the media will cooperate

......3. Once religion is discredited from within, continuously promote the idea that only the state can solve the problems that have been traditionally brought before the church