One of our all-time favorite seasonal stories is told by commentator Willem Lange about an old Vermont farmer with the unlikely name of "Favor Johnson," a hound named Hercules, a flatlander doctor, homemade fruitcake and the real spirit of Christmas.

The Vienna Philharmonic presents its ever-popular New Year's Day concert from the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna.

Joe Goetz hosts a program featuring four centuries worth of settings of the Magnificat (The Song of Mary) and Nunc Dimittis (the plea of Simeon the Righteous) and explains their special place in the Christmas season.

At 8, Walter Parker hosts a new program of holiday music from Vermont's own professional vocal ensemble.  Then, at 9, Philip Brunelle leads VocalEssence in a a program of favorite and contemporary choral arrangements of holiday music.

This year's program is called "Light of All Creation, Scatter the Darkness". A cherished tradition for nearly a century, the St. Olaf Christmas Festival is a spiritual and musical journey that reflects the anticipation of Advent, to Christ's birth, and the arrival twelve days later of the Three Kings from the East.

In Concert @ 8 features a special performance of Hector Berlioz's magnificent Christmas oratorio, "L'enfance du Christ" with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Chorus.

From 8-9 this evening we'll hear Minnesota's Rose Ensemble in a program of Elizabethan Christmas music, and then at 9, Bill McGlaughlin hosts a program of French music from medieval times to the present.

At 8, we'll hear a beautiful retrospective spanning 30 years of recordings by the Dale Warland Singers. Then, at 9, we'll listen to a recent concert recording of the 12-voice men's choir from San Francisco, Chanticleer.

John Birge presents "Giving Thanks", a thoughtful, contemporary reflection on the meaning of the holiday with seasonal music and poetry.