Silent Night

OUR EYES ROLLED at the news Wednesday that a federal appeals court upheld a New Jersey school district's ban on Christmas carols with religious references. Five years ago, a parent sued the Maplewood-South Orange School District over its ban of Christmas carols with religious references. He claimed that the ban violated his children's freedom to worship. The judges in their decision this week disagreed, saying that times had changed, and that "many decisions about how to best create an inclusive environment in public schools, such as those at issue here, are left to the sound discretion of the school authorities.

What do you know: The apostles of common sense in this matter of "church and state" have won a sweet victory down in Seminole County, Fla. As a consequence, "Silent Night" has survived an assault by its foes, and little children may not be prohibited from singing the most familiar of all Christmas carols in the public schools. The story merits the attention of school officials everywhere, for it emphasizes what the Supreme Court has been saying all along. The constitutional prohibition against laws or official acts "respecting an establishment of religion" cannot be interpreted to ban voluntary, individual religious expressions that in no way are acts of the state.

Silent night, holy night All is calm, all is bright Round yon virgin mother and child, Holy infant so tender and mild Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace It is 2:15 p.m. Christmas Eve in this tiny Alpine farming village of 3,500 that hugs the Austrian-German border. I am trying to keep warm while standing in line, talking to a group of American soldiers who came across the border from Germany to wait in this same queue. Thousands of other tourists, speaking every conceivable language, have been pouring in all day. Normally this little hamlet, dotted by a few snow-sprinkled 18th- and 19th- century pastel houses, doesn't get the world's tourism trade.

If you thought there was no place like home for the holidays, you obviously forgot about the night scene. Here are some of the clubs with sounds and space for the naughty or nice: Tribecca celebrates Christmas early with the "Ho-Ho-Ho Ball" on Saturday. Louie DeVito, the man behind the "NYC Underground Dance Party" series, makes for "A Very Lifted Xmas" with Chuck Addis, Robbie Tronco, Kurious George, Moon and others at Shampoo on Sunday. It's no silent night Monday - Richie Rich delivers the sounds at Envy.

Susan Boyle is in the studio recording a Christmas album, according to U.S. retail sources. While specifics are unclear, Sony is targeting it for an October release. Columbia spokeswoman Fran DeFeo confirmed that Boyle is "recording a new album to come out later this year. " Boyle recently announced a competition, called "Susan's Search," to give her fans the chance to sing on the follow-up to her chart-topping debut, "I Dreamed a Dream. " Aspiring Boyle collaborators can enter the competition by uploading a video of themselves singing "Silent Night" to her YouTube page.

Interned by the British as a youthful political activist in Northern Ireland's Long Kesh prison, Gerry Adams wrote of surviving Christmas without "holly, mistletoe or turkey . . . tinsel or Christmas tree," of how the internees kept the season's spirit alive by singing "Silent Night": Silent night, holy night All is calm, all is bright. Today, nearly two decades later, the lyrics seem especially apt. In Northern Ireland, too long wracked by violence, the nights (and days)

For all their outward ingenuousness, the popular medieval music group Anonymous 4 smartly conducted a tour of Christmas music that told you a lot about folk music - what it can and can't do, and why serious composers adopt its manner to create a mythic past. The program was titled Wolcum Yule, presented at St. Mark's Church on Friday by the tireless Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and you could have walked in skeptical. Though a big CD seller, the angelic-voiced female quartet Anonymous 4 (widely nicknamed A4)

Just when you thought you'd heard it all in political ads - here comes Santa Claus. And the Baby Jesus. And the Third Reich. A candidate for state Superior Court is running two radio spots that basically accuse his opponent of trying to get rid of Christmas. Harrisburg Republican Thomas Saylor's campaign says the ads are factual and fair. His opponent, Democrat Jon Pushinsky of Pittsburgh, calls them "down in the mud. " And Pushinsky calls the ads "anti-Semitic," partly because their background music, the Christmas carol "Silent Night," is in German.

Although a child was born to Andy Padilla, Christmas Eve was anything but a "silent night, holy night" for the 21-year-old North Philadelphia resident. When Padilla got into a fender-bender at Broad and Spring Garden streets, the driver of the other car pulled a gun and shot him. The bullet grazed the side of his head, and put him in Hahnemann University Hospital. According to police and Padilla, who gave a bedside interview last night, here's what happened: Padilla was chauffeuring female friends to a party in his Jeep late Christmas Eve. His plan was to drop them off, drive to Philadelphia International Airport, and fly to Puerto Rico, where his girlfriend Yolanda, 17, was expecting their child.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI marked the end of 2011 with prayers of thanks and said humanity awaited the new year with apprehension but also with hope for a better future. "Another year approaches its end while we await a new one with the trepidation, desires, and expectations of always," Benedict said at the traditional New Year's Eve vespers service as he delivered his homily from the central altar of St. Peter's Basilica on Saturday evening. "With the spirit filled with gratitude, we prepare to cross the threshold of 2012, remembering that the Lord watches over us and takes care of us," Benedict said.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI marked the end of 2011 with prayers of thanks and said humanity awaited the new year with apprehension but also with hope for a better future. "Another year approaches its end while we await a new one with the trepidation, desires, and expectations of always," Benedict said at the traditional New Year's Eve vespers service as he delivered his homily from the central altar of St. Peter's Basilica on Saturday evening. "With the spirit filled with gratitude, we prepare to cross the threshold of 2012, remembering that the Lord watches over us and takes care of us," Benedict said.

It's Christmas week, and that means it's time for our annual sports-related carols: "The Winter Time Blues" (To the tune of "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year") It's the least bearable time of the year. The Phillies are idle, and I'm suicidal with little but hockey to cheer. It's the least bearable time of the year. It's the crap-crappiest season of all. The Eagles are finished, their dream much diminished, I long for "Play ball.

Repertory Films Ambler Theater 108 E. Butler Ave., Ambler; 215-345-7855. www.amblertheater.com . Elf (2003) $4. 12/3. 11 am. Bryn Mawr Film Institute 824 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr; 610-527-9898. www.brynmawrfilm.org . Going Gaga: The Descendants . $7. 12/7. 2 pm. White Christmas (1954) $5; $4 children. 12/3. 11 am. Talk Cinema. $20; $10 students with ID. 12/4. Open Screen Night. 12/5. 9:15-11 pm. Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us?

Susan Boyle is in the studio recording a Christmas album, according to U.S. retail sources. While specifics are unclear, Sony is targeting it for an October release. Columbia spokeswoman Fran DeFeo confirmed that Boyle is "recording a new album to come out later this year. " Boyle recently announced a competition, called "Susan's Search," to give her fans the chance to sing on the follow-up to her chart-topping debut, "I Dreamed a Dream. " Aspiring Boyle collaborators can enter the competition by uploading a video of themselves singing "Silent Night" to her YouTube page.

OUR EYES ROLLED at the news Wednesday that a federal appeals court upheld a New Jersey school district's ban on Christmas carols with religious references. Five years ago, a parent sued the Maplewood-South Orange School District over its ban of Christmas carols with religious references. He claimed that the ban violated his children's freedom to worship. The judges in their decision this week disagreed, saying that times had changed, and that "many decisions about how to best create an inclusive environment in public schools, such as those at issue here, are left to the sound discretion of the school authorities.

From drugstores to department stores, even on city sidewalks, the tinny barrage of Christmas music is impossible to escape this time of year. But although it's easy to churn out one more saccharine "Silent Night," original takes on the holiday canon are as rare as a white Christmas in this age of global warming. And that puts pressure on musicians like singer Raul Malo, former front man for the Mavericks. "These songs have been heard millions of times, so you better do something different to them," says Malo, a "self-admitted Christmas music junkie" with upward of 400 Christmas albums in his collection.

To the untrained ear, the sweet sound of four-part harmony flooding out of the auditorium doors of Temple Sinai Synagogue in Cinnaminson seems like a wonderful, polished concert. But the leader standing before the rows of singers clearly isn't satisfied. Director Stephanie Brictson of Quakertown demands they "sing to the overtones," "keep those chins level" and, most of all, "keep on working. " The Sweet Adelines Jersey Sound Chorus' regular Wednesday night rehearsal is underway.

Jews and Christmas. They go together like - well, let's just get it out there: They don't go together. And since this is the second year in a row that I've left a Bristol Riverside Theatre holiday show - in this case Christopher Durang's Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge - feeling personally insulted, I hereby issue a plea for the company to please leave the Hebrews out of your future yuletide festivities. Bristol means well, they really do, and they deserve credit for their annual attempt to avoid the Scrooge cliche by mounting productions that turn the Dickens classic on its ear. In this case, a typically careening Durang script zips around A Christmas Carol like a wild pinball game, with an African American ghost - who, by the way, may have a few of her own complaints about Durang's stereotyping - leading the infamous humbug to the Cratchits' Airstream trailer, among other off-kilter destinations.

Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen is featured in a television commercial for an undergarment for athletes, which is built around the theme of "protecting the house. " His Terrapins have protected the house quite well, winning 20 of 21 home games since Friedgen took over the team in 2001. "Our fans give us a tremendous advantage," said Friedgen, whose 31 wins in his first three seasons set an Atlantic Coast Conference record. "They are very loud and very supportive, and our kids really seem to pick up on it. " Tonight, Temple (0-1)

For all their outward ingenuousness, the popular medieval music group Anonymous 4 smartly conducted a tour of Christmas music that told you a lot about folk music - what it can and can't do, and why serious composers adopt its manner to create a mythic past. The program was titled Wolcum Yule, presented at St. Mark's Church on Friday by the tireless Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and you could have walked in skeptical. Though a big CD seller, the angelic-voiced female quartet Anonymous 4 (widely nicknamed A4)