Today is Friday, Dec. 21, and here are the five things you need to know:

1. You'll want to be prepared for wet weather today. The National Weather Service is predicting that local residents can expect showers and a high near 50. Tonight should be mostly cloudy, with a low around 37. (sunrise, 7:10 a.m.; low tide, 11:37 a.m.; sunset, 4:13 p.m.; high tide, 5:55 p.m.)

2. This morning at 9:30, Salem Patch will join AOL in a company-wide blackout as "moment of silence" to honor the victims of the elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn., last week.

3. Do you love dining at local restaurants? Click Here for this week's round-up of North Shore food news recently published on area Patch sites. This week's installment features stories about the Lynde Street Cafe and BYOB in Marblehead.

4. After months of preparation, demolition is underway at St. Joseph Church on Lafayette Street. Click Here to view a video of demolition crews at work on Thursday afternoon.

5. Today in History: On Dec. 21,1620, William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims landed on what is now known as Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Mass. 

For more things going on in Salem today, check out our events calendar.