Today is Thursday, Dec. 25, the 359th day of 2003. There are six days left in the year. This is

Today is Thursday, Dec. 25, the 359th day of 2003. There are six days left in the year. This is Christmas Day. On this date in 1818, "Silent Night" is performed for the first time, at the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorff, Austria.
In A.D. 336, the first recorded celebration of Christmas on Dec. 25 takes place in Rome. 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.
December 25, 1978: Dr. George Beelen, general chairman of the Mahoning County Heart Fund Drive, names five division chairmen, D.B. Cartson Jr., Joseph Novotny, Paul Rohrbaugh, Sid Tabu and Kenneth F. McMahon.
Steve Bartkowski fires two touchdown passes in the final five minutes of the game to give the Falcons a 14-13 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. The comeback ends the season for the Eagles, quarterbacked by Ron Jaworski.
Dr. James B. Birch retires after 50 years of service as a pediatrician in Youngstown. In a half-century of practice, the 77-year-old physician has seen the development of vaccines and injections that have eliminated the fright attached to virtually all childhood diseases.
December 25, 1963: Youngstown area's Christmas season is clouded by lack of jobs and inadequate public welfare assistance. It's been the worst year so far, social workers report unanimously.
The outlook in the steel industry in 1964 seems to be on the upside, which could be good news for the Youngstown district's 600,000 residents. Still, the area has an estimated 10,000 unemployed, an improvement from two years earlier when 17,000 to 18,000 were out of work.
December 25, 1953: Christmas food orders, none less than $15 in value, are distributed to 1,500 needy Youngstown families from proceeds of the Alias Santa Claus show organized by Vindicator Columnist Esther Hamilton at Stambaugh Auditorium.
William N. Letson of Warren, a second year student at Harvard Law School, is elected to the editorial board of the Harvard Law Review, the highest scholastic honor a student at the school can receive.
Opening at the Paramount in downtown Youngstown, "How to Marry a Millionaire," starring Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall. In CinemaScope, the amazing Anamorphic Lens Process, which provides life-like realism and infinite depth
December 25, 1928: William Bouck Mason, 85, a descendant of the early settlers of Niles and a boyhood friend of President William McKinley and Joseph G. Butler Jr., dies of pneumonia at the family homestead on Robbins Avenue.
Boy Scouts and the Girard High School Band, under the direction of Prof. Cecil Munk, meet at the large community Christmas tree provided by the Community Corporation, and perform Christmas carols.