Christmas Eve

DENVER -- An army of 1,500 mail carriers fanned out across Colorado and Wyoming on Christmas Eve, making rare Sunday deliveries yesterday in a bid to get hundreds of thousands of blizzard-delayed packages to their destinations on time. "This is an unprecedented effort," postal service spokesman Al DeSarro said. They all volunteered for the extra duty, he said. Normally, about 100 carriers would be working yesterday, he said. A blizzard dropped up to 3 1/2 feet of snow on Colorado and Wyoming last week, disrupting mail service for parts of three days amid the Christmas delivery...

Hundreds of Orthodox Christian worshippers are gathering in Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas Eve. After a rainy night, the local patriarch of the Greek Orthodox church led worshippers under bright skies in a procession toward the Church of the Nativity, built on the traditional spot of Jesus' birth. Orthodox Christian leaders will lead midnight mass in the church late Friday. Most Eastern churches celebrate Christmas Eve on Jan. 6. One Greek Orthodox worshipper stayed home this Christmas: Irineos I, the previous Greek Orthodox patriarch, who was deposed in 2005 over...

SEATTLE - After slaughtering their parents, Joseph McEnroe apologized to his girlfriend's young niece and nephew before shooting both in the head to end a Christmas Eve massacre, prosecutors alleged yesterday. But even as they filed aggravated first-degree murder charges against McEnroe and Michele Anderson, prosecutors could not say what might have driven the couple to kill. "In the end, what motive could you find that would make sense of the senseless slaying of the Anderson family?"

At New Hope Baptist Church on a recent Sunday morning, the resounding message from the pulpit was to rejoice in the day set aside to celebrate Jesus' birth. But the shiny new bicycles, from toddler to teenage size that were lined up along the base of the altar and in a few pews sent out another clear message: At New Hope, helping others is a priority. Marquette Kelley, 8, was among the first of 20 kids to have his name drawn after the service for one of the free bikes. It was difficult to tell who was happier — Marquette or his mom, Regina Davis.

Young and old will gather to sing their favorite holiday songs Saturday during the town's eighth annual Christmas Eve caroling event. Several hundred residents participate in the holiday tradition, which takes place from 4 to 4:30 p.m. at the Hastings Park Bandstand at Massachusetts Avenue and Worthen Road. Children will be invited onto the bandstand with musicians to ring bells for "Jingle Bells. " Song sheets, hot chocolate, and cookies will be provided. - Brock Parker

For Maria Farragher and her family, it's a holiday tradition. Every Christmas Eve for the past seven years, she and her husband, their three children, and her brother take a road trip from Upton to Boston Common, where they hand out fleece blankets to the homeless. Usually, they walk through the park, giving out blankets one by one, having conversations on the way. They always have enough. But this year, when the car pulled up, more than a hundred people crowded around Farragher's vehicle.

The Central Congregational Church in Middleborough, a 161-year-old structure almost destroyed by a four-alarm fire in May 2009, will reopen just in time for the holidays, said the Rev. Doug Forbes, associate pastor. The congregation is to return to the church at 2 Webster St. for two services on Saturday, Christmas Eve, Forbes said. "Returning to our church home is a real answer to prayer," he said. "The Fire Department was great, and thanks to their heroics the building was saved. We're very excited about it. "

A lamb has been born unto a Cincinnati nativity display. The Krohn Conservatory says that a night watchman oversaw the Christmas Eve delivery for a sheep that was part of the live-animal display. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports ( http://cin.ci/vYkP2y) that conservatory officials say the birthing went well and the mother and lamb were doing fine. The conservatory's director says they are thinking of calling the female lamb "Merry," for "Merry Little Christmas. " Other details weren't immediately available.

More than 200 employees at a pair of bankrupt hospitals in Hawaii are getting notices that they're losing their jobs on Christmas Eve. The operators of the Hawaii Medical Center hospitals on Oahu plan to close the facilities, putting nearly 1,000 people out of work. More than 200 got notices Friday saying they'll be laid off effective Saturday. The closures were announced after the hospitals' former owner and largest secured creditor objected to a potential sale. Less than 60 patients remain at the hospitals.

Saturday was the 25th annual MatzoBall, the Christmastime dance that caters to Jewish people (and their friends) who are free to mix and mingle during the holidays. This year's big party was held at Royale, where young professionals danced to pop music and sipped fancy drinks. The event - which was cosponsored by the Society of Young Jewish Professionals, JDate, and SLEEK MedSpa - drew hundreds of locals including (above) Scott Marder and Jessica Zelfand, who danced with City Councilor Tito Jackson (left)

A 39-year-old man charged with exposing himself on the Blue Line on Christmas Eve was ordered held on $5,000 cash bail following his arraignment in East Boston District Court yesterday. Abdel Hakim Rezzougcq was arraigned on a charge of open and gross lewdness after a passenger reported seeing a man fondling himself on the train between the Aquarium and Airport stations on Christmas Eve. According to the MBTA, a passenger took a cellphone photo of the suspect as he was leaving the Airport station.

MBTA Transit Policecq are searching for a man who exposed himself on a Blue Line train on Christmas Eve, officials said. Transit Police were notified by a passenger around 5:40 p.m. that a man was openly masturbating on a train between the Aquarium and Airport stations, the MBTA said in a statement. The passenger followed the man when he got off the train at the Airport station, and was able to capture a video of the man before he left the station. Transit Police are investigating a similar incident in which a man fitting the same...

OF ALL the rituals that mark this season, none is more misguided than the complaints about how crass and mercenary the holidays have become. The laments begin early in November, when Santa starts showing up in TV commercials. They surge during the hyperactive shopping weekend that follows Thanksgiving. By the time Christmas (and Hanukkah) are actually at hand, you'd have to be in a persistent vegetative state not to hear all the scolding about how the "reason for the season" has been lost amid the buy-one-get-one sales and the over-elaborate mall displays.

A lamb has been born unto a Cincinnati nativity display. The Krohn Conservatory says that a night watchman oversaw the Christmas Eve delivery for a sheep that was part of the live-animal display. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports ( http://cin.ci/vYkP2y) that conservatory officials say the birthing went well and the mother and lamb were doing fine. The conservatory's director says they are thinking of calling the female lamb "Merry," for "Merry Little Christmas. " Other details weren't immediately available.

A man was arrested on Christmas Eve after attempting to rob a Market Basket supermarket in Lowell, police said. The man's identity has not yet been released, and he is facing charges of armed robbery, said Lowell Police Captain Thomas Kennedy. Around 4 p.m., the suspect approached the courtesy counter at the 11 Wood St. store and told the teller he would blow the store up if they didn't give him the money behind the counter, Kennedy said. He was wearing sunglasses, a fleece hat, and gloves, officials said.

Saturday was the 25th annual MatzoBall, the Christmastime dance that caters to Jewish people (and their friends) who are free to mix and mingle during the holidays. This year's big party was held at Royale, where young professionals danced to pop music and sipped fancy drinks. The event - which was cosponsored by the Society of Young Jewish Professionals, JDate, and SLEEK MedSpa - drew hundreds of locals including (above) Scott Marder and Jessica Zelfand, who danced with City Councilor Tito Jackson (left)

A man was arrested on Christmas Eve after attempting to rob a Market Basket supermarket in Lowell, police said. The man's identity has not yet been released, and he is facing charges of armed robbery, said Lowell Police Captain Thomas Kennedy. Around 4 p.m., the suspect approached the courtesy counter at the 11 Wood St. store and told the teller he would blow the store up if they didn't give him the money behind the counter, Kennedy said. He was wearing sunglasses, a fleece hat, and gloves, officials said.

MBTA Transit Policecq are searching for a man who exposed himself on a Blue Line train on Christmas Eve, officials said. Transit Police were notified by a passenger around 5:40 p.m. that a man was openly masturbating on a train between the Aquarium and Airport stations, the MBTA said in a statement. The passenger followed the man when he got off the train at the Airport station, and was able to capture a video of the man before he left the station. Transit Police are investigating a similar incident in which a man fitting the same...

GRAPEVINE, Texas - Seven people believed to be related had opened their Christmas gifts and started cleaning up the wrapping paper when they were shot to death in a Dallas-area apartment, police said yesterday. Authorities said they believe the shooter is among the dead. Four women and three men, aged 18 to 60, were found in an adjoining kitchen and living room area when police entered the apartment shortly after 11:30 a.m., said Grapevine Police Sergeant Robert Eberling.

A fire destroyed a three-decker on Merrifield Streetcq in Worcester Saturday night, according to a fire official. A Worcester firefighter broke his ankle fighting the blaze, but no other injuries were reported, District Fire Chief Michael Conleycq said. "The whole building was pretty well-gutted," Conley said, but no other buildings were damaged. The fire started about 10:30 p.m. at 19 Merrifield St.cq Within an hour, most of the fire was doused, but part of the roof collapsed, making fighting the flames more difficult, Conley said.