In Whoville, Christmas came “without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags.”

In Brookhaven, it will come without candy. At least the Christmas parade will. Though the Grinch and his too-small heart came to mind when we first heard the news, the city’s decision to prohibit candy from being thrown during the Christmas parade makes good  sense.

When the candy starts flying, it’s a free-for-all with children pushing and shoving past each other to grab the sweet stuff. Those children, and some adults, usually end up in the street and in danger of being hit by a vehicle or parade float.

Though there have been no injuries, officials prudently decided to err on the side of safety and ban candy tossing. We know some children will be disappointed, but the sights and sounds of the parade will hopefully be enough to keep them satisfied.

And Santa will still throw candy at the conclusion of the parade, so all is not lost.

If the Whos can welcome Christmas without presents, surely Brookhavenites can welcome the season without candy flying from floats.

Election surprise

Count us among those who were surprised that long-time Democratic representative Bobby Moak lost his re-election bid to Republican Vince Mangold. Not because Mangold wasn’t a worthy candidate, but because incumbents are tough to unseat.

Moak is a bit of an island, a Democrat in a heavily Republican area. We didn’t always agree with his positions — as House Democratic leader he often had to take positions he probably didn’t always agree with either — but we know his leadership will be missed. We thank Moak for his three decades of service to the state and district. And we wish him well as he exits the House.