Christmas Eve

A thin fragment of moon stood watch that Christmas Eve as the president of the United States and the prime minister of Great Britain came out onto the South Portico of the White House. They were there to light the national Christmas tree -- and to speak a holiday greeting to an uncertain world. Two and a half weeks earlier -- and 70 years ago last week -- the Japanese had devastated the American Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. A nation that had endured 12 grinding years of economic catastrophe was now plunged into a maelstrom of worldwide war. It was Christmas in time of turmoil, a season of brotherhood and peace under the shadow of genocide and war -- and it fell to these two men to help the nation and the world make sense of that.

This is my favorite time of year. I love everything Christmas - Santa, carols, TV specials - and the generally happy mood it creates. I try not to get bogged down with the stress of buying gifts - what for whom, etc. - and just try to enjoy it all. I look forward to spending time with my family, to seeing my son's face when he sees what Santa has left him under the tree (my 1-year-old daughter doesn't get it yet). This year my husband and I are getting to see Christmas through the eyes of a child, and we love it. Henry is all about the dancing Christmas decorations, the houses all lit up with lights and adorned with blowup snowmen and Santas.

Thanksgiving is gone, so it's safe to put out the Christmas stuff, though some major retailers thought it was OK to get started in September. Thanksgiving is gone, so it's safe to put out the Christmas stuff, though some major retailers thought it was OK to get started in September. If the mid-week forecasts are correct, the weekend should be pretty good outdoors for that sort of stuff. What it will also be good for is spending some money with the small, independent retailers in the area.

When were you planning to drop the news that you'll be leaving your Thanksgiving gathering early? Or that you won't be showing up at all? And how about Christmas Eve? When were you planning to tell your spouse that you won't be spending Christmas Eve with the family? I'm talking about Ravens fans. For the first time ever, a Baltimore NFL team is playing on Thanksgiving Day. And not one of those old-fashioned afternoon games, but one of those new 9:30 p.m. games they've been playing since 2006.

Police in Anne Arundel county believe a 19-year-old Pasadena woman killed in a car accident on Christmas Eve was text-messaging and speeding when she crashed her car into a tree. Alyssa Anne Bennett was driving her 2002 Acura RSX north on Tick Neck Road near Bristol Channel Court in Pasadena at 2 a.m. on Dec. 24, police said, when she apparently lost control of the car and drove it off the road and into a tree. The accident occurred less than a mile from her home on Turf Valley Drive.

While many teenagers were eagerly anticipating what gifts they will receive this holiday season, students at Mount Hebron High School in Ellicott City were making sure that soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center don't go empty-handed. Mount Hebron High staged its fourth annual Operation Remembering Our Troops for soldiers recuperating at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda. During the drive, which was launched by office secretary Maura Dribben, the school collected such items as gift cards of $5 or $10 that soldiers can use at department stores and grocery stores, as well as phone cards.

Memories, like frozen water pipes, tend to bubble up at this time of year. The are plenty of pleasant recollections — including the arrival of our firstborn on Christmas Eve — that come to mind in December. But the memories I can't stifle are the ones that are filled with less than bliss. Take for instance, the Christmas Day when I almost burned down the dining room. Feeling festive, I had tried to ignite a Yule log in a dormant fireplace. It is what the man of the house was supposed to do. Smoke, rather than joy, filled the room.

This schedule will be in effect Friday: County offices Government offices, libraries and courts: closed in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Harford and Howard counties. Public schools: closed in all jurisdictions, reopen on Jan. 3. Trash: regular pickup in Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Howard counties. In Carroll, Frederick and Harford, check with contractors. Harford waste disposal center is closed; waste-to-energy center open. Annapolis City offices, courts and transit: closed Parking meters: feed Trash : regular pickup Baltimore City City offices, courts, libraries and public schools: closed Parking meters: feed Trash: regular pickup.

This year more restaurants than ever seemed to be open for Thanksgiving. But Christmas is still Christmas, and most places are closed on Dec. 25. Yes, many Chinese and Indian restaurants remain open on Christmas Day. But I always thought the annual Christmas Day dinner in a Chinese restaurant was one of those customs more honored in the breach than the observance. At least around here. Below are the handful of Christmas Day options I have found so far. Anything else I learn of will be posted on Dining@Large ( baltimoresun.

If he was always billed as "James" Stewart, why did movie lovers know him as Jimmy? James jibed better with his ethical authority and physical height (6 feet, 31/2 inches), but Jimmy suited the actor's down-home casualness and emotional transparency, his soft-shoe timing and his uncanny knack for spontaneous comedy- drama. He let audiences see right through him. Stewart could be a master of ingratiating wool-gathering. But he could also cut and sting. Few have approached the rage and anguish Stewart fearlessly plumbed in films such as "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946)