For some history I should try the Catholic Encyclopedia? Excuse me, but doesn't the Catholic Church have the audacity to put forth to intelligent people that...,/i.

For any sort of historical research, it is a matter of reading several sources and weighing them up one against another. In this case, we are discussing when and why a particular date was chosen for Christmas and whatever you may think of their beliefs and attitudes, the Catholic Church was certainly a major player in chosing that date. For example, they are probably believable when researching the question of whether Christmas was celebrated on the 25th December pre the Gregorian adjustments to the calendar when it would align relatively badly with the solstice, unlike celebrating in the 25th December after the reorganisation when it aligns moderately well (forget the 'standing still' stuff - it doesn't if you measure accurately enough.)