Holiday closings

Thursday, Dec. 23, 1999 | 9:42 a.m.

On Christmas Day, Christians worldwide celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ although biblical scholars have long argued over when he actually was born. In the fourth century the Church of Rome designated Christ's birth as Dec. 25 to attempt to convert pagans, who held a big feast for the winter solstice in late December.

Here's what's open and closed on Christmas Eve Friday, the day that is being recognized as the holiday for business purposes (note some entities also will close early on Thursday):

SAFETY: Police and fire emergency services as usual. Offices closed.

UTILITIES: Closed: Nevada Power Co., Sprint, Las Vegas Valley Water District, Southwest Gas. Open Friday, closed Saturday: Cox cable.

GOVERNMENT: Closed: Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Boulder City, Clark County, state, courts, federal offices, federal courthouse. Note: Boulder City is normally closed Fridays, as are some departments in Henderson. While employees in those municipalities who are normally off that day will be compensated, no services to the public will be affected on other days.

SCHOOLS: Closed, no classes: Clark County School District, UNLV, Community College of Southern Nevada.

MAIL: Closed no deliveries: U.S. Postal Service and United Parcel Service.

NEWSPAPER: Sun offices closed. Sun published in combined morning edition with Review-Journal.

TRANSIT: Downtown Transportation Center: Open Friday, closed Saturday. City trolleys: Running Friday, not running Saturday. Citizen Area Transit: Weekend-holiday schedule (fewer buses on fixed routes).

LIBRARIES: Las Vegas-Clark County district open Friday, closed Saturday; Henderson district closing early Friday, closed Saturday and Sunday; North Las Vegas district and Boulder City closed Friday and Saturday. Note: North Las Vegas is normally closed Sundays and will be closed this Sunday and Boulder City normally is open Sunday and will be open this Sunday.

GARBAGE: Silver State Disposal pickups as usual. Offices closed.

MATRIMONY: Marriage License Bureau open 24 hours, starting 8 a.m. Friday, closing midnight Sunday.

FINANCIAL: Brokerage firms closed. Banks optional (the Nevada Division of Financial Institutions says banks have the option of staying open or closing on Friday. Check your local branch for its service hours on Christmas Eve).

ZOO: Southern Nevada Zoological and Botanical Park open Friday, closed Saturday.

PARKING: City parking metered spaces free.