This claim is wrong. The origins of christmas have been subjected to uneducated commentary without true research. Read this article in the link below first before you comment. Christmas is NOT a pagan holiday. I'll leave a brief extract.. the rest can be read in the article.


http://oodegr.co/english/ekklisia/genika/pagan_origins_of_christmas.htm

"It's that time of the year again: Christmas time! The trees, the lights, the stockings, the nativity scenes, and, of course, the giant inflatable Santas (really, what would Christmas be without them?) are going up all over the place. And, as every year, the same recycled and ridiculous historical inaccuracies are getting pushed on the unsuspecting masses. I've already seen the articles popping up online and being passed around by friends on Facebook; I'm sure that, as they always do, the National Geographic Channel and the History Channel have something "interesting" and uninformative in the works to deceive their viewers with as well. Search for "Christmas" in Google and immediately you are bombarded with the popular mythology about Christmas' origins. The History Channel's webpage on Christmas (the fourth on the list returned from my Google search), for example, erroneously claims, amongst other things, that Pope Julius I decided on a date of December 25 in order to replace the pagan festival of Saturnalia and that "the Greek and Russian orthodox [sic] churches" celebrate Christmas "13 days after the 25th, which is also referred to as the Epiphany or Three Kings Day."1

Before we begin looking at these trite claims in more detail, I want to point out explicitly that I am writing this post because of an interest in historical truth, not out of any desire to engage in apologetic. In spite of the claims of pseudo-Christian cults like the Jehovah's Witnesses, even if the date for Christmas had been based upon a pagan holiday (though this is not an admission that it was) originally on that date this would not impede or deligitimize the Christian celebration of the holiday. The days of the week all have pagan names (Wednesday, for instance, refers to the Norse god Woden) and yet I doubt I can find many of those who refuse to celebrate Christmas who also refuse to use the names of the days.2 Similarly, whether the Christmas tree or any of the other holiday accessories is of pagan origin or not is immaterial to the use of them by modern Christians; the toothbrush and toilet paper also have pagan origins and again I doubt that I could find many who refuse to use these items.3 The modern use of a Christmas tree no more implies an adherence to any of the pagan cults which used trees in their worship than the eating of a meal implies a dedication to the god Mithras whose worship involved the eating of communal meals.4

With all of that said, the purpose of this post is to clear away the dross of popular mythology and propaganda from the origins of Christmas and the various ways it is celebrated. We will first look at the origins of a Christian feast celebrating the birth of Christ and how that feast came to be placed on December 25. We will then look at some of the particular ways in which that feast is celebrated by Christians today, such as the display of Christmas trees, mistletoe, and nativity scenes, and search for their respective origins. Along the way, I will attempt to clear up some of the other common misconceptions about Christmas both ancient and modern, such as the already-quoted misunderstanding of the date of the celebration of Christmas by Orthodox Christians."

Read the rest in the link above.

You forgot Plateau which is predominantly Christian. The South West is not equally split, as it is subject to the largest evangelical movement in West Africa. There are more converts to Christianity in the South West than any region in West Africa. Let's break it down, in the South West: Lagos is predominantly Christian (let's not forget, Igbos make up 30% of the population in Lagos already) leaving the remaining 70% of Yorubas and other tribes, out of which at LEAST half are Christian, making Lagos AT LEAST 65% Christian. Oyo is 50/50, Osun is slightly more muslim dominated, about 55/45, Ondo is Christian dominated 60/40, Ekiti is Christian dominated 70/30, Ogun is Christian dominated (but only slightly) 55/45. The Southwest is therefore Christian dominated (Lagos's large population and foreign influence gives it an edge). The Middlebelt is Christian dominated, Plateau, Benue and Kogi are majority Christian. Even Nasarawa can be said to have a Christian Majority, but only slightly, but for the sake of argument we'll say its mixed. That leaves only Kwara with a muslim majority population in the middlebelt. Read any history book, even Lamido Sanusi's essays refer to the middlebelt as the "Christian middlebelt". That means out of 6 zones, 4 are Christian dominated. And let's not forget the fact that Taraba in the North east is Christian Dominated, Adamawa is half/half and Borno has a 30% Christian population (the marghi).

FreeGlobe:

I'm quoting saraki verbatim. wish you could do the same and spare us your lousy explanations ada ekiti.

Why do you care what tribe he is? I can tell you for a fact that Bukola Saraki is pure Yoruba. I Know their family, I can tell you for a fact that his father is not even from Ilorin but rather originally from Ogun State. Kwara State is about 70-80% Yoruba, alongside some Nupe, Fulani minority tribes. Former Ambassador Alhaji AbdulGaniyu Folorunsho Abdulrazak says it in this interview. He knew Bukola's father before he went into politics and talks about his origins... which lie in Abeokuta.

http://saharareporters.com/2010/12/09/saraki-not-kwara-alhaji-abdulganiyu-folorunsho-abdulrazak

Bukola's mother on the other hand is from Iseyin in Oyo State. It might be possible that he does have a Fulani ancestor, however it is equally more likely that he simply plays it up for political sake in the North. But Even if he did, according to his own words that singular ancestor is only one out of many dating back over 200 years ago. A great great grandfather. If this is true, it's like me saying I am white and marry a black man. My child is half-caste and that child marries another black man, his child is quarter caste, that child then marries another black man who's child is then one eight white, that child then marries another black child and they have a child who is then one sixteen white. And that child then claims he is white instead of black! Does that even make any sense? According to Bukola Saraki, he is one sixteenth Fulani and fifteen sixteenth Yoruba, yet some of you want to come on here and claim he is Fulani. Smh, abeg, una should move on to something else. Carry go!

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