Christmas

A Car Talk Christmas Carol Redux

Saturday, December 19th, at 10am - 11am

A refreshed and updated version of the holiday classic. Starring Tom and Ray Magliozzi and a stellar cast of public radio personalities including Robert Siegel as Bob Cratchit. From NPR and WBUR.

A Paul Winter Solstice Concert

Sunday, December 20th, at 10pm - 12m

The holiday tradition continues with Paul Winter's Winter Solstice Celebration. A dynamic musical celebration in the extraordinary acoustics of the world's largest Gothic cathedral - New York's Cathedral of St. John the Divine - highlight the music of the Winter Consort with Gospel singer Theresa Thomason, Brazilian singer/guitarist Renato Braz, and woodwind master Paul McCandless. John Schaefer hosts the production from Living Music and Murray Street.

A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

Thursday, December 24th, at 10am - 12noon

Hosted by Michael Barone, this is a live, 90-minute stereo music and spoken-word broadcast from the chapel of King's College in Cambridge, England. The 30-voice King's College Choir performs the legendary Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols service of Biblical readings and music.

Tinsel Tales: NPR Christmas Favorites

Thursday, December 24th, at 1pm - 2pm

This program features stories from the NPR archives that touch on the meaning of Christmas. David Sedaris, Bailey White, John Henry Faulk - these and other NPR voices, past and present, tell stories of the season. Hosted by Lynn Neary.

Let Nothing Ye Dismay

Thursday, December 24th, 2009, 6pm - 6:30pm

Let Nothing Ye Dismay, by Chris Satullo and Tony Auth, tells the story of a group of Millenial 20-somethings trying to celebrate Christmas together for the first time away from their parents, in a house down at the beach. Various adventures, romantic and otherwise ensue. This is a WHYY original production. This story will be available in on-line installments starting December 20th.

A Christmas Gift for You

Thursday, December 24th, at 8pm - 9pm

The inside story behind this 1963 album, A Christmas Gift for You, featuring performances by The Ronettes, The Crystals, Darlene Love and Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans that raised the bar for pop/rock arrangements of classic holiday songs. The All Music Guide says, "This is the Christmas album by which all later holiday releases had to be judged," and Rolling Stone lists it as one of the best albums ever made. Includes interviews with singers Darlene Love and LaLa Brooks, musicians Nino Tempo, Don Randi and Hal Blaine. Hosted by Anthony DeCurtis.

Leroy Anderson Christmas Special

Thursday, December 24th, at 11pm - 12m

This one-hour program contains 80% music of classic Christmas arrangements and original music by Leroy Anderson. It is hosted by conductor Leonard Slatkin and the composer's son Kurt Anderson, and features recorded performances of Leroy Anderson's Christmas Music with Leonard Slatkin conducting the BBC Concert Orchestra, and Leroy Anderson conducting his "Pops" Concert Orchestra. Listeners will also hear Leroy Anderson talking about how he wrote some of his famous Christmas music and what Christmas means to him.

Christmas with the Philadelphia Singers

Thursday, December 24th, at 10pm - 11pm
Friday, December 25th, at 1pm - 2pm

An annual favorite, "Christmas with the Philadelphia Singers" is a concert of traditional and contemporary holiday music performed by the renowned choral group. This year, the famed ensemble celebrates Christmas on Logan Square with a program of 20th-century music. Host Ed Cunningham shares new seasonal sounds and cherished traditional favorites - from the beautiful candlelight procession to the spirited singing of carols with the audience. The hour-long concert is made complete by the choir's delightful arrangements of traditional hymns and carols.

Let Nothing Ye Dismay

Friday, December 25th, 2009, 9am - 9:30am

A Car Talk Christmas Carol Redux

Saturday, December 19th, at 9:30am - 10am

A refreshed and updated version of the holiday classic. Starring Tom and Ray Magliozzi and a stellar cast of public radio personalities including Robert Siegel as Bob Cratchit. From NPR and WBUR.

Kwanza

A Season's Griot 2009

Saturday, December 26th, at 11pm - 12m

"A Season's Griot" is public radio's only nationally syndicated Kwanzaa program. Hosted for the last 22 years by acclaimed storyteller Madafo Lloyd Wilson, this annual one-hour special captures the tales and traditions of African-American and African peoples.

This year's program features stories told to, for and about children. With folktale, song and poetry, Wilson and friends put the spotlight on youth: love for them, responsibility to them, and ways adults can sometimes not see them. The program presents traditional and original works of poetry, music and prose that speak to the institution of family.

New Year's Eve

Toast of the Nation

LIVE Thursday, December 31st, at 8pm - 4am

Toast of the Nation features live music all night on New Year's Eve - a holiday special for your party.

Raise a glass with listeners coast to coast and revelers at five live-jazz locations across the continent. After midnights in New York and the Twin Cities, our West Coast artists give a Happy New Year shout-out to Mountain Timers. Then an hour later it's "Auld Lang Syne" (or something hipper) in Pacific Time, with a "here's to Alaska and Hawaii" in advance of their midnight hours.