The article you provided is written by a creative writer for an interesting website - it doesn’t even make a scholarly backed claim that the Christmas tree is pagan. In fact, it backs up what I was saying:

The Origin Of The Christmas Tree In Europe Although many countries have declared themselves the home of the Christmas tree, historians have said it’s likely that the real first tree was erected in 16th-century Alsace, in modern-day France. At the time, however, Alsace was a part of German territory, and so the tradition technically belongs to the Germans. Historical records show that a Christmas tree was indeed put up in the Strasbourg Cathedral in 1539, and the tradition quickly became popular throughout the region.

So sure, it is possible that pagans decorated their house with trees common in northern europe during their winter festivals, and then Christians decided to erect a single winter tree in their house later on. It doesn’t mean they’re related. Many religions incorporate fire into practices and burning things without actually being linked to each other.

Yule, a scandinavian festival, used to be celebrated later in winter, typically December to February. They then changed the date to fit in with Christianity, not the other way around. In addition, we have earlier records for Christmas than we do for Yule.

Here’s some better sourced reading on the topic:

https://historyforatheists.com/2024/12/pagan-christmas-again/#Yule