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Celebrate the Holidays with WTTW's Programming in 2022

Daniel Hautzinger
Lucille, Trixie, and Nancy in the 2022 Call the Midwife holiday special
The twelfth season of 'Call the Midwife' begins with a Christmas special. Photo: Neal Street Productions and BBC Studios

It's December, which means the end-of-the-year holiday season is here, and we're happy to help you celebrate with a slate of special holiday programming. We've got everything from concerts to food specials to a new Call the Midwife special, so we suggest you take a look at our schedule below and fit in some cozy viewings amidst all your shopping, gatherings, and other activities.

Happy Holidays with Bing & Frank

Friday, December 2 at 8:00 pm

Celebrate the holidays with a timeless special featuring the magical combination of Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. In this early color broadcast from 1957, the two legends swap Christmas songs and stories and duet on some favorite holiday classics.

WTTW Passport members can stream the special. 

Classic Christmas

Friday, December 2 at 8:30 pm

Through the years, there's nothing more heart-warming than the familiar songs of the season at holiday time. Old-fashioned favorites celebrated through the generations are featured.

Carpenters: Close to You & Christmas Memories

Saturday, December 3 at 10:00 pm

Trace the Carpenters' career through the eyes of Richard Carpenter and the group's friends in the music business, and celebrate their perennially popular Christmas music.

O Holy Night: Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Tuesday, December 13 at 8:00 pm

Tony Award-nominee Megan Hilty and actor Neal McDonough star in this Irish-inspired holiday special with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. 

WTTW Passport members can stream the 2018 Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert, featuring Hugh Bonneville and Sutton Foster. 

Chef's Life Holiday Special

Thursday, December 15 at 10:00 pm

Delectable fudge. Crispy peanut brittle. Gooey chocolate-covered cherries. Old-fashioned caramels. Doing what she knows best, Chef Vivian Howard hosts her own vision of the season's celebrations in this special, exploring holiday traditions, Kinston, NC-style. 

Christmas at DePaul

Friday, December 16 at 8:00 pm

Join Chicago's DePaul University for the wondrous retelling of the birth of Christ in word and song. This virtual performance features the talents of DePaul faculty, staff and students, and alumni.

Christmas Carol: The Remix with the Q Brothers

Friday, December 16 at 9:00 pm

Chicago hip hop sensations the Q Brothers Collective heat up the holiday season with this wildly entertaining take on the Charles Dickens classic that mashes up hip hop, reggae, dancehall music, dubstep, and epic rock ballads. Recorded live at The Yard At Chicago Shakespeare Theater, this special leads Ebenezer Scrooge on a journey of rhythm, rhyme, and redemption.

Death in Paradise Christmas Special

Saturday, December 17 at 8:00 pm (part one) and Saturday, December 24 at 8:00 pm (part two)

A Caribbean Christmas treat with the show's first-ever Christmas special. The sun-soaked, scintillating beauty of Saint Marie is rocked at Christmas time by a baffling murder, with a dazzling array of guest stars under suspicion. 

Mary Berry's Ultimate Christmas

Monday, December 19 at 9:00 pm

Join the beloved British home cook and three special friends as they prepare her ultimate Christmas feast with all the trimmings. From the traditional turkey to her classic Christmas pudding, it's the perfect recipe for a deliciously festive holiday.

Wheaton College Christmas Special: Through His Own Redeeming Love

Monday, December 19 at 10:00 pm

This traditional Christmas Festival shares the wonder of creation, the sorrow of its brokenness, and the hope of redemption through the birth of Jesus Christ in Nine Lessons and Carols performed by the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music ensembles.

WTTW Passport members can stream the concert. 

Dreaming of a Jewish Christmas

Tuesday, December 20 at 9:00 pm

This irreverent documentary tells the story of the unlikely Jewish immigrants who, enamored with Broadway and Hollywood, wrote some of the most popular songs in America: Christmas music. 

Anthony Williams' Urban Nutcracker

Thursday, December 22 at 10:00 pm

A celebration of multi-cultural communities that puts a modern spin on the 19th-century fairy tale and transports viewers to an enchanted world not unlike their own. Drawing upon classical ballet, urban tap, hip-hop, swing, flamenco, step and jazz, the performance uniquely retells a Christmas classic. 

Mary Berry's Country House at Christmas

Friday, December 23 at 8:00 pm

Dame Mary Berry visits Harewood House in Yorkshire as it prepares for Christmas on a grand scale, and demonstrates how to make delicious recipes inspired by festive dishes of the past.

WTTW Passport members can stream the special.

Mary Berry's Absolute Favourites

Friday, December 23 at 9:00 and 9:30 pm

Mary shares some of her favourite recipes for Christmas and Christmas Day with delicious, indulgent but easy classics for a stress-free enviable feast.

WTTW Passport members can stream both episodes.

St. Olaf Christmas Festival: Love Divine

Friday, December 23 at 10:00 pm and Saturday, December 24 at 11:00 pm

Familiar carols and exciting new compositions are performed in this annual tradition.

WTTW Passport members can stream a previous edition of the longstanding Christmas concert.

Lucy Worsley's 12 Days of Tudor Christmas

Saturday, December 24 at 9:00 pm

Join Lucy Worsley on a twelve-day extravaganza as she discovers that much of what we enjoy in contemporary Christmas, from carols to turkey, gift-giving to mistletoe and mulled wine, has surprising Tudor origins, rooted in devotion and charity.

WTTW Passport members can stream the special. 

Call the Midwife Holiday Special

Sunday, December 25 at 8:00 pm

With Christmas approaching, the midwives move to their maternity clinic and are delighted when their first patient is a familiar face. Life in Poplar returns to normal after the tragic train crash, and everyone unites for a festive talent show in this first episode of season 12.

Don't forget that we have recaps of recent Call the Midwife seasons. WTTW Passport members can stream the four most recent specials.

United in Song 2022: Ringing in the New Year Together

Saturday, December 31 at 9:00 pm

Ring in the New Year with music that celebrates our nation's diversity, from folk to rock to opera.

WTTW Passport members can stream the concert from 2020/2021.

Great Performances—From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration 2023

Sunday, January 1 at 7:00 pm

Celebrate the new year with this annual classical music celebration featuring waltzes by Strauss from the opulent Musikverein hosted by PBS favorite Hugh Bonneville.