December 5, 1953 (Saturday) A violent F5 tornado devastates parts of Vicksburg, Mississippi.; December 6, 1953 (Sunday) With the NBC Symphony Orchestra, conductor Arturo Toscanini performs what he claims is his favorite Beethoven symphony, Eroica, for the last time.The live performance is broadcast nationwide on radio, and later released on records and CD.

Song origins. According to the co-writer and longtime group member Bob Gaudio, the song's lyrics were originally set in 1933 with the title "December 5th, 1933," and celebrated the repeal of Prohibition, but the lyrics were changed at the urgings of Frankie Valli and lyricist Parker to reposition the song as a nostalgic remembrance of a young man's first affair with a woman, …