LOS ANGELES (Reuters Life!) - Christmas just isn't Christmas without the twinkling tree, the bright star, the donkey and jolly old Santa Claus. Or is it?

Not only do the above have little or no mention in gospel accounts but a book on the history of Christmas reveals that early Christians did not start celebrating the birth of Jesus for 300 years.

And, by the way, that birthday wasn't on Dec. 25. Historians have been unable to establish when Jesus was born.