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• And on Christmas Day, out-of-town police officers were on duty to give police here a break.
• "It's a nice thing that they can use us this way," Ted Latiak, a police detective from Greenwich, Conn., said Christmas morning, as he and a fellow detective, each working a half-day shift, came out of a store with bagels and coffee for other officers.
• At St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church, which eight of the child victims of the massacre attended, the pastor told parishioners Tuesday at the second of four Masses that "today is the day we begin everything all over again."
• Recalling the events at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, the Rev. Robert Weiss said: "The moment the first responder broke through the doors we knew good always overcomes evil."
• "We know Christmas in a way we never ever thought we would know it," he said. "We need a little Christmas and we've been given it."
• At the Trinity Episcopal Church, an overflow crowd of several hundred people attended Christmas Eve services. They were greeted by the sounds of a children's choir echoing throughout a sanctuary hall that had its walls decorated with green wreaths adorned with red bows.
• The church program said flowers were donated in honor of Sandy Hook shooting victims, identified by name or as the "school angels" and "Sandy Hook families."
• The service, which generally took on a celebratory tone, made only a few vague references to the shooting. Pastor Kathie Adams-Shepherd led the congregation in praying "that the joy and consolation of the wonderful counselor might enliven all who are touched by illness, danger, or grief, especially all those families affected by the shootings in Sandy Hook."
• Police say the gunman, Adam Lanza, killed his mother in her bed before his rampage and committed suicide as he heard officers arriving. Authorities have yet to give a theory about his motive.
• While the grief is still fresh, some residents are urging political activism. A group called Newtown United has been meeting at the library to talk about issues ranging from gun control, to increasing mental health services to the types of memorials that could be erected for the victims. Some clergy members have said they also intend to push for change.
• "We seek not to be the town of tragedy," said Rabbi Shaul Praver of Congregation Adath Israel. "But, we seek to be the town where all the great changes started."
• Since the shooting, messages similar to the ones delivered Monday have arrived from around the world. People have donated toys, books, money and more. A

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