Holiday Programming 2024
We've got a full lineup of holiday programming to get you in a festive mood.
Listen on-air or stream online on our website, on our free mobile app, or on your smart speaker.
Holiday programming is sponsored by Nohea Gallery.
Tuesday, December 24
HPR-2
12 p.m. A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols presents your audience with an opportunity to share in a live, world-wide Christmas Eve broadcast of a service of Biblical readings, carols, and related seasonal Classical music. This special will be presented by one of the world’s foremost choirs of men and boys and performed in an acoustically and architecturally renowned venue, the 500-year-old Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge, England.
8 p.m. St. Olaf Christmas Festival 2024: Celebrating 150 Years of St. Olaf College
For one and a half centuries, St. Olaf has been a hub of connections, knowledge, and growth. And for more than a century, the St. Olaf Christmas festival has been a cherished part of that history. Join us as we celebrate their legacy.
Wednesday, December 25
HPR-1
11 a.m. Tinsel Tales: NPR Christmas Favorites
Christmas is a time of traditions, and over the years, NPR has created a few traditions of its own. In this hour-long special: Wistfulness, joy, doubt, hope, all the emotions we feel at this time of year, all summoned up in memorable stories from the NPR broadcast archives.
HPR-2:
8 a.m. A Chanticleer Christmas
The beloved, Grammy-winning men’s chorus brings its “rich, intricately blended sound” (The Washington Post) to its signature holiday celebration. The centuries-spanning program ranges from Renaissance masterworks to roof-raising spirituals.
9 a.m. Welcome Christmas
Welcome Christmas is a perennial Christmas favorite from VocalEssence, one of the world's premier choral ensembles, conducted by Philip Brunelle and G. Phillip Shoultz. Join host Bonnie North for an hour of traditional carols and new discoveries, including including the world premiere of three beloved Latvian carols by composer Ēriks Ešenvalds.
10 a.m. The Christmas Revels: In Celebration of the Winter Solstice
Tune into a brand-new musical celebration of the Winter holidays – Advent, Chanukah, the Solstice, Las Posadas, Christmas, New Year’s, and Twelfth Night/Epiphany — featuring traditional carols, wassails, pub songs, hymns, spirituals, children’s singing games, and folk dance-tunes excerpted from live Christmas and Midwinter Revels stage productions presented around the country.
Tuesday, December 31
HPR-1
10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Jon Alan's New Year's Show (pre-empting Bridging the Gap)
Ring in the new year with Blues from the Basement and B-sides host Jon Alan.
Wednesday, January 1
11 a.m. Selected Shorts: Holiday Hitches
We love the holidays, but sometimes things don’t go as planned. This seasonal special from SELECTED SHORTS, hosted by Meg Wolitzer, offers three tales about uncommon roads travelled by the celebrants. Humorist Andy Borowitz tells of a young man embracing tradition—but with an ulterior motive. Michael Tucker reads “The First Hanukkah.” Our second work may or may not answer the question “Where Do Good Trees Go When They Die?” but it certainly tells us a lot about a mother/daughter relationship. Pascale Armand’s reads this Laurie Notaro work. And in Stuart McLean’s “Christmas Presents,” a family that had a tepid response to gift giving decides to go all out, with unpredictable results. Spoiler alert: the holiday season is not the best time to learn new skills, and reader Jill Eikenberry will tell you why.
HPR-2
8 a.m. Classical 24
C24 hosts carefully craft each broadcast to ensure their companionable storytelling is engaging and relevant to the listener. These knowledgeable hosts illuminate the music they present with well-researched insightful information, taking care that the music is accessible and stimulating for novices and aficionados alike.
10 a.m. New Year's Day from Vienna
Celebrate the New Year with waltzes by Strauss and more performed from Vienna’s Musikverein by the famed orchestra led by guest conductor Christian Thielemann.
Schedule is subject to change. This page will be updated throughout the holiday season.