diff --git a/Doc/commontex/boilerplate.tex b/Doc/commontex/boilerplate.tex
index bc6e452..eb3b6f4 100644
--- a/Doc/commontex/boilerplate.tex
+++ b/Doc/commontex/boilerplate.tex
@@ -5,5 +5,5 @@
 	Email: \email{docs@python.org}
 }
 
-\date{21st February, 2008}			% XXX update before final release!
+\date{13th December, 2008}			% XXX update before final release!
 \input{patchlevel}		% include Python version information
diff --git a/Include/patchlevel.h b/Include/patchlevel.h
index c2d56f1..c79ba18 100644
--- a/Include/patchlevel.h
+++ b/Include/patchlevel.h
@@ -22,11 +22,11 @@
 #define PY_MAJOR_VERSION	2
 #define PY_MINOR_VERSION	5
 #define PY_MICRO_VERSION	3
-#define PY_RELEASE_LEVEL	PY_RELEASE_LEVEL_ALPHA
-#define PY_RELEASE_SERIAL	0
+#define PY_RELEASE_LEVEL	PY_RELEASE_LEVEL_GAMMA
+#define PY_RELEASE_SERIAL	1
 
 /* Version as a string */
-#define PY_VERSION		"2.5.3a0"
+#define PY_VERSION		"2.5.3c1"
 
 /* Subversion Revision number of this file (not of the repository) */
 #define PY_PATCHLEVEL_REVISION  "$Revision$"
diff --git a/Lib/idlelib/NEWS.txt b/Lib/idlelib/NEWS.txt
index 7329ee9..1d0a712 100644
--- a/Lib/idlelib/NEWS.txt
+++ b/Lib/idlelib/NEWS.txt
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 What's New in IDLE 1.2.3c1?
 ===========================
 
-*Release date: XX-XXX-2008*
+*Release date: 13-Dec-2008*
 
 - Issue #2665: On Windows, an IDLE installation upgraded from an old version
   would not start if a custom theme was defined.
diff --git a/Lib/idlelib/idlever.py b/Lib/idlelib/idlever.py
index ec8e000..bf76c40 100644
--- a/Lib/idlelib/idlever.py
+++ b/Lib/idlelib/idlever.py
@@ -1 +1 @@
-IDLE_VERSION = "1.2.2"
+IDLE_VERSION = "1.2.3c1"
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS b/Misc/NEWS
index 18af6d0..5e78a83 100644
--- a/Misc/NEWS
+++ b/Misc/NEWS
@@ -4,10 +4,10 @@
 
 (editors: check NEWS.help for information about editing NEWS using ReST.)
 
-What's New in Python 2.5.3?
+What's New in Python 2.5.3c1?
 =============================
 
-*Release date: XX-XXX-20XX*
+*Release date: 13-Dec-2008*
 
 Core and builtins
 -----------------
diff --git a/README b/README
index f6546ff..8699ba7 100644
--- a/README
+++ b/README
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-This is Python version 2.5.2
-============================
+This is Python version 2.5.3c1
+==============================
 
 Copyright (c) 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Python Software 
 Foundation.