Rick Steves Special: European Christmas

Sleoghride at dusk in the Alps

Credit: APT

From manger scenes and mistletoe to wintry wonderlands, RICK STEVES' EUROPEAN CHRISTMAS celebrates the Christmas season throughout the European continent.

In the special, Rick visits friends and families in England, France, Norway, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy to reveal their customs and practices of the holiday season. He begins his travels in England, where the Christmas pudding is the real centerpiece of a traditional English holiday meal. In Paris, the Eiffel Tower heralds the season with its red, twinkling lights. And in the countryside of Tuscany, villagers stack neat pyramids of wood for great bonfires. The lighting of the fires is a signal to villagers — dressed as shepherds — to come and sing old carols. Rick Steves European Christmas, airing Saturday, December 25 at 3 p.m. on WXXI-TV, offers a colorful, musical celebration of Christmas across Europe where viewers will learn about customs from "the old countries," hear local choirs, and discover holiday family traditions.