Today is Wednesday, Dec. 25 -- Christmas Day -- the 359th day of 2002. There are six days left in

Today is Wednesday, Dec. 25 -- Christmas Day -- the 359th day of 2002. There are six days left in the year. On this date in 1818, "Silent Night" is performed for the first time, at the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorff, Austria.
In 1223, St. Francis of Assisi assembles one of the first Nativity scenes, in Greccio, Italy. In 1776, Gen. George Washington and his troops cross the Delaware River for a surprise attack against Hessian forces at Trenton, N.J. In 1926, Hirohito becomes emperor of Japan, succeeding his father, Emperor Yoshihito. (Hirohito is formally enthroned almost two years later.) In 1931, New York's Metropolitan Opera broadcasts an entire opera over radio for the first time: "Hansel and Gretel" by Engelbert Humperdinck. In 1941, during World War II, Japan announces the surrender of the British-Canadian garrison at Hong Kong. In 1946, comedian W.C. Fields dies in Pasadena, Calif., at age 66. In 1977, comedian Sir Charles Chaplin dies in Switzerland at age 88. In 1989, ousted Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, are executed following a popular uprising. In 1991, Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev goes on television to announce his resignation as the eighth and final leader of a communist superpower that had already gone out of existence. In 1995, singer Dean Martin dies at his Beverly Hills home at age 78.
December 25, 1977: Pennsylvania Gov. Milton Shapp makes a package offer to the Miller Brewing Co. to locate its proposed new brewery in Lawrence County.
A bomb explodes in a side street off Manger Square in Bethlehem, where thousands of Christian pilgrims were celebrating Christmas Eve in the town of Christ's birth. There were no reports of injuries.
The cost of wages has nearly doubled and fringe benefits more than tripled for Niles city workers since 1972, while the number of employees has only risen about 20 percent. The higher costs are putting pressure on every aspect of the Niles municipal budget.
Stanley Peterson, retired FBI agent and the security chief of Mahoning National Bank, is expected to be named Youngstown's new police chief by Mayor-elect J. Phillip Richley.
December 25, 1962: A huge throng of last-minute shoppers jams downtown Youngstown's stores and streets, making Christmas Eve one of the busiest shopping days of the season.
Santa is bringing food and clothing to many Youngstown area children instead of dreamed-of toys, as needy families face the leanest Christmas in many years.
Playing at downtown Youngstown theaters on Christmas Day: "Gypsy," starring Natalie Wood at the Warner; "Taras Bulba," starring Tony Curtis and Yul Brynner at the Palace; "Jumbo," starring Doris Day, Stephen Boyd, Martha Raye and Jimmy Durante at the Paramount, and "Castaways," starring Maurice Chevalier and Hayley Mills at the State.
December 25, 1952: For the third year in succession, Jordan's Arab Legion and Israeli border guards relax frontier regulations to permit pilgrims to visit Bethlehem and other holy places of Palestine. About 2,500 pilgrims made the trip from divided Jerusalem to Bethlehem.
Cash registers jingle a merry tune and harried retail store employees try hard to smile as throngs wrap up their Christmas shopping and give the Youngstown district its biggest selling spree on record. Total sales are estimated at 10 percent above 1951.
Playing at Youngstown's downtown theaters on Christmas Day: "Million Dollar Mermaid," starring Ester Williams and Victor Mature at the Paramount; "Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd" at the Warner; "Thunderbirds," starring John Derek and John Barrymore Jr. at the Palace and "Toughest Man in Arizona," starring Vaughn Monroe at the State.
December 25, 1927: George A. White, 19, a workman on the Mill Creek golf course, is killed instantly when a tractor he was using to grade a hillside overturns. The youth had come to Youngstown a few months ago from Texas and had been making his home with his brother.
The anniversary of the birth of Christ is celebrated in Bethlehem by devout Christians from throughout the world. A great multitude gathers under an open, star-lit sky outside the village in the very field where shepherds watched their flocks on that eventful night.
More than 2,000 Warren children meet Santa Claus in courthouse park, each receiving a gift of candy or an apple or an orange from Santa or his assistant.