what pagan holiday did christmas replace

Christmas is believed to have replaced the pagan holiday of Saturnalia, which was a winter solstice festival celebrated in ancient Rome. The Roman holiday was marked by feasting, gift-giving, and a general atmosphere of joy and merriment. The early Christians wanted to establish their own holiday to counter the pagan celebrations, and they chose to celebrate the birth of Jesus on the same day as the Saturnalia festival. The Christians believed that by replacing the pagan celebration with their own, they could bring more people into the fold of Christianity.