It is official: Religion is Lunacy
I have known for a while that the end of Ramadan is marked by the visibility of a new moon, as seen from Mecca, what I hadn’t realised up until now, though, is that the date of Easter is dependent on the Full Moon. How very pagan.
Meanwhile, check out this blogswarm
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...ravings from the Shell... 
I briefly studied paganism, and being also a recent student of history have learned that several of the holidays celebrated by Western cultures are derived from ancient pagan festivities.
Eaater is, in fact, a wonderful example of how a Christian holiday was dressed in pagan clothing to make it more accessible. Ancient pagans were believed to have engaged in fertility rituals this time of year, to mark the arrival of Spring. Eggs and rabbits: what are better symbols of fertility?
How about Candlemas, the festival of lights? This is another Roman Church adaptation of a pagan holiday known as Imbolc, which celebrated the transition into late winter, the anticipation of spring when the days are longer than the nights.
Living near a multi-cultural town (Slough) the only Festival of Lights I am familiar with is the Hindu festival Diwali, where (as a Hindu told me) because of the shortening of the days people let off fireworks to scare the darkness away. This doesn’t seem to match the Wikipedia entry, but then again, what the frell does wikipedia know?
Cool story of Diwali your Hindu acquaintance shared – even if it’s not based on the truth, it’s a lovely myth all the same.
Wikipedia is sometimes an awesome resource but there are some GROSS inaccuracies which due to its popularity it unfortunately tends to promulgate. Being not-for-profit has its drawbacks, as it apparently implies that good data, and the integrity of its contributors, is not important.
On the flip side, there is a major media enterprise in the SF Bay Area which does the same thing, only it’s actually for-profit: Channel 5 News.