Brooklyn Today for Dec. 24, 2012
Good morning. Today is the 359th day of the year. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle of Dec. 24, 1868, carried an article on “Christmas in Brooklyn.”
“There is an atmosphere in the community that affects everybody now,” it read. “The words `Merry Christmas’ have a cheery ring that no person can resist. The weather seems perfect for the season – cold, but clear and bright. Business is good, money plenty, and we hear nothing about want or destitution everywhere. The stores are resplendent with their tempting displays of holiday goods, and the children are radiant with pleasure and anticipation. We never realize the pleasure in making other people happy as we do at Christmas, when we set out to please the little folks.
“There is no want of good things to make merry on,” the article continued. “The butchers have killed their finest oxen and fattest sheep. Those who have an abundance should remember those who are not so blessed, and send a poor family a turkey and a ton of coal.”