All times Eastern

DEC., VARIOUS DATES

Trappist ABC affiliates; check local listings

This special, a rebroadcast, tells the fascinating story of the Cistercian Trappists at Our Lady of Mepkin Abbey, which was founded in 1949 outside Charleston, S.C. The abbey was built on a 1681 rice plantation donated by the publisher Henry Luce and his wife, the diplomat and author Clare Booth Luce, who was a convert to the Church. The program includes a quick but helpful history of Catholic monasticism. Ask your local ABC station to be sure to air this high-quality show.

SUNDAY, DEC. 8

A Charlie Brown Christmas ABC, 8 p.m.

With a little help from his friends — Linus in particular — Charlie Brown comes to see the real meaning of Christmas in this animated Christmas classic. A postlude features the actress Whoopi Goldberg.

SUNDAY, DEC. 8

Emeril Live Food Network, 9 p.m.

Chef nonpareil Emeril Lagasse prepares his mother's favorite Christmas dishes for us.

MONDAY, DEC. 9

Hail, Holy Queen EWTN, 2:30 p.m.

Today's episode of this Scripture- and tradition-rich series from Scott Hahn and Mike Aquilina is “The Immaculate Conception.”

TUESDAY, DEC. 10

Decorate for the Season Home & Garden TV, 9 p.m.

Matt Fox and Shari Hiller decorate a room with Christmas trees, lights and slipcovers. They also visit a house that has Christmas trees in every room.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 11

Sing! PBS, 8:30 p.m.

Eight-year-old kids audition for Anne Tomlinson's Los Angeles Children's Chorus, then learn how to sing as a group.

THURSDAY, DEC. 12

Animals of the Nativity

Animal Planet, 8 p.m.

This new special highlights the animals that tradition associates with the birth of Jesus. Some are still common in the Holy Land today.

FRIDAY, DEC. 13

Christmas: Behind the Traditions Home & Garden TV, 10 p.m.

Starting with the original Santa Claus — the fourth-century St. Nicholas of Myra — this special examines the origins of Christmas customs such as gift-giving, wrapping paper, eggnog, mistletoe and Christmas trees and ornaments.

SATURDAY, DEC. 14

Silent Night Hallmark Channel, 9 p.m.

In this new three-hour drama based on a real-life incident, a German mother and her son huddle in their forest cabin on Christmas Eve 1944 as the Battle of the Bulge rages around them. When three GIs and then three German soldiers take refuge there, the mother makes them hold their fire and then have Christmas dinner together. Advisory: contains scenes in which the soldiers, some wounded, are about to kill each other.

Dan Engler writes from Santa Barbara, California.