Christmas Eve

Robert W. Patterson served as a welfare adviser in the Corbett administration When Philadelphia Magazine compiled 76 reasons "Why We Love Philly" in December, the editors placed Tenth Presbyterian Church's Christmas Eve service in the 23d spot. "The spine-tingling, haunting sound of the congregants' collective a cappella 'Silent Night,' " the monthly observed, "is as serene and unifying as . . . Christmas. You feel chills, and not from the night air. " Yet, just as Philadelphia gets lost in the shadows of New York and Washington, the historic church that graces the southwest corner of 17th and Spruce Streets rarely competes in the media's estimation with such better-known Protestant houses of worship as Rick Warren's Saddleback Church, the popular Southern California megachurch, and Riverside Church of Manhattan, the iconic cathedral of liberal Protestants founded by John D. Rockefeller.

Police were investigating a fatal shooting Monday night in the Overbrook section of Philadelphia. According to police, the victim, a 26-year-old man, was shot once in the chest and taken in a private vehicle to Lankenau Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The shooting occurred just before 8 on the 900 block of North 66th Street. Police have not made any arrests. - Jessica Parks

THERE'S SOME truth to the joke that Jews like to take in Chinese food and a Woody Allen movie on Christmas Eve, to get away from all that. This year, Allen has denied his tribe a new opus. But look-alike comedian Ross Bennett is ready to make Christmas Eve escapees laugh while you nosh, as star of the Moo Shu Jew Show, sponsored by the Gershman Y. Actually returning for the fifth year, this multicourse Chinese feast plus comedy show will be landing at a new Chinatown location, Ocean Harbor Restaurant, 1023 Race St. Also serving up the yuks are Lenny Marcus - a funny bunny who recently debuted on "The Late Show with David Letterman" plus standup comic/author Joel Chasnoff, whose material (and book The 188th Crybaby Brigade)

The story began with words from a wise man - in this case, Inquirer columnist Acel Moore. Acel was telling me how, in some Philadelphia neighborhoods, folks don't get their Christmas money until Christmas Eve. Many get paid in cash. Others rush with their check to the bank or the check-cashing store and thence to their last-minute shopping. "People don't realize how many folks live like this," Acel said. His words spurred both conflict and nostalgia. Conflict because Acel's right: A lot of people don't know a thing about the side of life where you go from check to check, where you have exactly one night of shopping - the last night - to give your kids the biggest day of the year.

With a trimmed tree to warm her spirits and a boiling pot of water to heat her apartment, Marie Rivera was all set for Christmas yesterday morning. Then came the unexpected voice through the door. "Fire department. We need to take a look around. " Minutes later, Rivera was in tears, trembling, as she, her five children, and more than 25 other tenants who rented spaces in a pair of rat-infested, dilapidated apartment buildings in downtown Chester were facing Christmas Eve without a place to stay.

All Anton Mahne's wife wanted for Christmas was a Pandora bracelet. That, and to walk again. "I can't do anything about that," Mahne said of his wife's disability, the result of a stroke she suffered after giving birth to their daughter 18 months ago. But at 8 a.m. Christmas Eve, the Cherry Hill radiologist was among the first in line at the Pandora jewelry store at Cherry Hill Mall. Yes, in line, with several other flinty holiday shoppers making a mad dash for gifts.

A North Philadelphia man was found guilty yesterday of killing an off-duty police officer and a woman after a botched robbery at a bar on Christmas Eve. After deliberating for about six hours, a jury convicted Ronald Gibson, 22, of two counts of first-degree murder. It also found him guilty of robbery and two counts of conspiracy. The prosecution is seeking the death penalty for the murders of Fredrick P. Dukes, 45, and Vernae Nixon, 31. The jury today will hear testimony before deciding on a sentence.

As she had done just about every morning for decades, last Christmas Eve 89-year-old Marie Sippel walked out of her home in Holmesburg in time to attend St. Dominic's 8 a.m. Mass. Afterward, she was going to attend a Christmas party in the rectory. Nearby that same morning, Edward McGuckin was putting his 7-year-old daughter in his Chevy Blazer to drop the child at an aunt's house before going to work. As was her routine, Sippel walked from her home on the 8000 block of Christian Street to Rhawn Street, then headed west to Frankford Avenue to catch the Route 66 bus. From there, it was a one-mile ride to the church where she had been a volunteer for 20 years.

At 10:15 p.m. Tuesday, Christmas Eve, the Rev. Nancy Muth will pull a string and change the face of the Chelten Avenue business district. The sidewalk ceremony will tear the faux gift-wrapping off a stained-glass gem - a Tiffany rose window long hidden from view - at First Presbyterian Church of Germantown. The church has spent $50,000 to uncover and restore the century-old window and add a fiber-optic lighting system to illuminate it for passersby every night. "You still can't see it from in the church," Ms. Muth said.

Robert W. Patterson served as a welfare adviser in the Corbett administration When Philadelphia Magazine compiled 76 reasons "Why We Love Philly" in December, the editors placed Tenth Presbyterian Church's Christmas Eve service in the 23d spot. "The spine-tingling, haunting sound of the congregants' collective a cappella 'Silent Night,' " the monthly observed, "is as serene and unifying as . . . Christmas. You feel chills, and not from the night air. " Yet, just as Philadelphia gets lost in the shadows of New York and Washington, the historic church that graces the southwest corner of 17th and Spruce Streets rarely competes in the media's estimation with such better-known Protestant houses of worship as Rick Warren's Saddleback Church, the popular Southern California megachurch, and Riverside Church of Manhattan, the iconic cathedral of liberal Protestants founded by John D. Rockefeller.

Cedar Park Cafe was a pillar to those around 49th Street and Baltimore Avenue in West Philadelphia, with hearty, budget-priced breakfasts and lunches and cheery service. But a Christmas Eve fire forced it out of Cedar Park. Last month, it resurfaced with the same food and the same name in lovely, more spacious quarters near the Overbrook train station. Pay particular attention to the fluffy, veggie egg-white omelets ($6.95). - Michael Klein Cedar Park Cafe, 2035 N. 63d St., 267-292-2715.

Netflix Inc., the world's biggest video-streaming service, said access to its movies and television shows was restored after a disruption caused by Amazon.com Inc.'s Web storage and computing system. Many customers in the Americas weren't able to access content online Monday from around 3:30 p.m. Philadelphia time until late Christmas Eve, according to Joris Evers, a spokesman for Netflix. The blockage was caused by issues with Amazon Web Services, a business hosted on the Internet that's separate from the online retail store, he said.

NEWTOWN, Conn. - Newtown celebrated Christmas amid piles of snow-covered teddy bears, long lines of stockings, and heaps of flowers as volunteers manned a 24-hour candlelight vigil in memory of the 20 children and six educators gunned down at an elementary school just 11 days before the holiday. Well-wishers from around the country showed up Christmas morning to hang ornaments on a series of memorial Christmas trees while police officers from around the state took extra shifts to direct traffic, patrol the town, and give police here a break.

NEW YORK - Shoppers who waited until the final days before Christmas were rewarded with big bargains and thinner crowds. But their strategic deal-hunting reflects why stores may not ring up the sales they want for the season. Although fresh data on the holiday shopping season won't be out until after Christmas, analysts expect growth from last year to be relatively modest. Several factors have dampened shoppers' spirits, including fears that the economy could fall off the "fiscal cliff," triggering tax increases and spending cuts early next year.

All Anton Mahne's wife wanted for Christmas was a Pandora bracelet. That, and to walk again. "I can't do anything about that," Mahne said of his wife's disability, the result of a stroke she suffered after giving birth to their daughter 18 months ago. But at 8 a.m. Christmas Eve, the Cherry Hill radiologist was among the first in line at the Pandora jewelry store at Cherry Hill Mall. Yes, in line, with several other flinty holiday shoppers making a mad dash for gifts.

Police were investigating a fatal shooting Monday night in the Overbrook section of Philadelphia. According to police, the victim, a 26-year-old man, was shot once in the chest and taken in a private vehicle to Lankenau Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The shooting occurred just before 8 on the 900 block of North 66th Street. Police have not made any arrests. - Jessica Parks

After more than 40 years, it will be a silent night this Christmas Eve for the Bergen Square neighborhood's lively church choir, La Tuna de la Alegria. Every Sunday until recently, choir members of all ages - many of them second- or third-generation relatives of those who founded the Camden choir in 1969 - sang and played traditional Puerto Rican religious music for Masses at Our Lady of Mount Carmel/Fatima Church. Two years ago, the Camden Diocese ordered the parish to merge with North Camden's Holy Name and downtown's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

THERE'S SOME truth to the joke that Jews like to take in Chinese food and a Woody Allen movie on Christmas Eve, to get away from all that. This year, Allen has denied his tribe a new opus. But look-alike comedian Ross Bennett is ready to make Christmas Eve escapees laugh while you nosh, as star of the Moo Shu Jew Show, sponsored by the Gershman Y. Actually returning for the fifth year, this multicourse Chinese feast plus comedy show will be landing at a new Chinatown location, Ocean Harbor Restaurant, 1023 Race St. Also serving up the yuks are Lenny Marcus - a funny bunny who recently debuted on "The Late Show with David Letterman" plus standup comic/author Joel Chasnoff, whose material (and book The 188th Crybaby Brigade)