Is Easter Pagan?

[Mo MHuintir]

Consider this:

And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:
The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.
And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. Acts 16:16-18 KJV

Now if Paul, being lead by the Holy Spirit, would not allow a demon possessed person to announce a truthful statement about him (and Silas), why would God want to associate His gospel with the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus? Obviously Paul felt this person's reputation would impune the purity of the Gospel. I would think, even if there were a hint of paganism behind Easter and Christmas (which there is) we should distance ourselves from these "holy-days."
I can see in advance by some of the posts here that expressing my view is a waste of time. But I will say this anyway, the true nature of worship is the act of honoring that which we love and have affection for. We don't have to physically bow down to an object (or idea). We can give that object or idea a place of prominance in our hearts and minds. I've talked with a number of my fellow Christians about this topic. Some feel this way and others do not. I think those who cling to these former pagan practices actually have affection for them.