>      But would you really say (and I'm not being sarcasitc) that the
>      Christmas tree as we know it today is a Christian symbol?  If so,
why?
>
Really, John, yes it is.
It may be a relic from a pagan era, but has been appropriated by the
majority of members of a dominant religion. Call it an X-mass tree, it is
still not a symbol of X-ianism.

No more, or it may be percieved as getting ugly.