I've always wondered why--pagan and secular influences aside--Christmas turned out to be the major Christian holiday of the year rather than Easter.

What does Easter represent?  The sacrifice, Atonement, and subsequent resurrection of the Savior--a vital part of the Plan of Salvation, and of mankind's eternal progression.  Basically, every single reason we have to worship the Savior ties into the events represented by Easter.

What does Christmas represent?  Well...the birth of the Savior.

But, see, Jesus Christ's birth didn't actually *do* anything, except set in motion His earthly life that would culminate in the events of Easter.  Mankind was not better off in any significant way the day after Mary gave birth than the day before--his presence in the world as an infant did not provide any tangible (or spiritual) blessing to anyone alive or dead at the time, except for perhaps Mary and Joseph themselves. 

Basically, any blessing derived from the Savior's birth can be summed up in one word: hope.

Mankind, due to the Savior's birth, had 'hope' that they could be saved from sin and that they can return to their Heavenly Father's presence.  Without minimizing the value of hope and optimism in many people's lives, we should note, by definition, 'hope'  basically means everyone still has just as crummy a life now as they always had, but now at least they have a reason to look forward to things possibly becoming better sometime in the future.  And that 'sometime in the future', of course, was Easter.

It seems illogical, then, that Christmas would become, even for Christians, a more significant holiday than Easter, because 'Christmas' in essence represents only the hope that 'Easter' will soon be coming.  And without Easter (the Atonement and resurrection), Christmas (the Savior's birth) would mean nothing in the end.

Is there a reason for this?  I think fundamentally, Christmas is Christmas because people want and need a 'happy' holiday, full of the proverbial 'Christmas cheer'.  People want a holiday focused on family...and what better symbol of family and happiness than the birth of a baby (Christ-child or not...)?

Fundamentally, I think people subconsciously don't like to "celebrate" a holiday where the key event was a righteous man getting scourged and crucified, even if it has more significance to their eternal beliefs (and a "happy ending" through the resurrection).  Even though, logically, Easter should be dearer to the hearts of Christians, perhaps most people still prefer an observance of lesser significance which doesn't have the baggage of death and suffering hiding right behind it.

Not to be a holiday spoilsport, though, I still prefer Easter to Christmas from a religious perspective.  (Holidays off from work, on the other hand...)  Especially since the purpose of Christmas was simply to point the way to Easter in the first place...