Irish dancers performing.

A Southern Celtic Christmas airs Friday, December 20 at 7 p.m. on GPB TV.

Described as “moving, mystical and joyful,” “hauntingly beautiful” and “a masterpiece,” the Emmy Award-winning A Southern Celtic Christmas returns to GPB for the fourteenth year this Friday, December 20 at 7 p.m. 

Produced in Ireland, in the mountains of Appalachia and on the stage of the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts at Emory University, A Southern Celtic Christmas celebrates in music, dance, poetry, song and story the high spirits and mystical beauty of the Christmas traditions of the Celtic lands and their connections with similar traditions of the American South.

Dr. James Flannery

Dr. James Flannery

The program features performances by Grammy Award-winners Moya Brennan, known as the “First Lady of Celtic Song,”

bluegrass and Celtic banjo virtuoso Alison Brown and Riverdance composer Bill Whelan. Other performances include the soulful gospel harmonies of Rising Appalachia, madcap percussionist and fiddler Joe Craven and renowned songster John Doyle in an achingly beautiful ballad that captures the ways in which music and other cultural traditions gather families and together at Christmas.

Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney also makes a rare television appearance in the program to talk about the reverence for nature at the heart of Celtic spirituality, as well as noted Yeats scholar and director, Irish tenor and storyteller James Flannery, who shepherds us on the whole journey and performs Heaney’s wonder poem “St. Kevin and the Blackbird.”

Make sure to tune in on Friday, December 20 at 7 p.m. for A Southern Celtic Christmas and check out some of the other holiday programming coming up on GPB TV.

CHRISTMAS AT LONGLEAT - Saturday, December 21, 9 PM

Follow the dedicated team of Longleat, one of Britain’s grandest estates, as they prepare for the holiday season. Go behind the scenes as the estate is transformed into a Christmas wonderland in time for the busiest month of the year which includes stately dinner festivities and one of Europe’s largest lantern festivals.

SANTA SCHOOL - Monday, December 23, 8 PM

Delve into the festivities and wonder of Christmas through the people who keep the magic alive, passing on holiday excitement and happiness to future generations.

TOO HOT TO HANDEL: THE GOSPEL MESSIAH - Tuesday, December 24, 8 PM

Handel’s 18th-century masterpiece, “The Messiah,” has been reimagined and infused with Gospel, Jazz and R&B. The result is an uplifting reinterpretation of this seasonal favorite, captured at its European premiere at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

JOY - CHRISTMAS WITH THE TABERNACLE CHOIR - Tuesday, December 24, 9:30 PM

Broadway star Michael Maliakel and beloved actress Lesley Nicol (Downton Abbey) inspire in this holiday special that weaves Christmas classics with the story of Victor Hugo to show that opening our hearts to all is the true meaning of the season.

98th ANNUAL SPELMAN-MOREHOUSE CHRISTMAS CONCERT - Wednesday, December 25, 7 PM

Spelman College and Morehouse College are delighted to present the 98th Annual Christmas Carol Concert. This year, the Spelman Glee Club celebrates its centennial anniversary. As the oldest collegiate choir of African American women in the U.S., the Glee Club has preserved the legacy of Black choral music and has inspired generations of young women to share their artistry with the world.  

CALL THE MIDWIFE HOLIDAY SPECIAL 2024  - Wednesday, December 25, 8 PM

Tis the season for a festive return to Nonnatus House as the beloved tradition, the Call the Midwife Holiday Special, returns for another year. It’s Christmas 1969, and the funfair and carol concert add color to frosty Poplar. Yet, the spirit at Nonnatus House is dampened by the spread of influenza alongside growing fears of an escaped prisoner after a spate of break-ins.