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Hello! It’s Jonathan here. I hope you had a joyous Christmas.

As you may know, every year, I host a live broadcast to celebrate the end of the current year and the arrival of a new one, which comes first to New Zealand. I’ll be doing that once again this year at 9 PM on new year’s eve in New Zealand, which equates to 3 AM Eastern, and 8 AM in the UK on the morning of 31 December. This year though, it’s even more special.

After the presents have been opened, the turkey has been eaten (some of it at least), and it's Christmas night when you can hopefully enjoy a bit of well deserved down time. Why not pour a glass of your favourite Christmas cheer and join me for some Christmas traditions, tonight from 07:00 until 09:00 PM North American Eastern Time on Mushroom FM.

Yes, it's that time of year again, a time brimming with festive traditions big and small. One of those traditions for many people is listening to the wonderful Christmas albums by the Carpenters. So if that's your particular cup of hot chocolate, then why not join me, Sara Hillis, at noon Eastern time on Christmas day for a two-hour journey through the Carpenters Christmas Collection? We'll hear A Christmas Portrait in the first hour, and then it's onto An Old-fashioned Christmas in the second hour.

Once again, I recorded The Song Remembers When much later than I wanted to. This worked out fine however, because it gave my husband, Mark, a chance to play with Suno AI and write a theme song for the show! If you tune in, you'll be able to hear this theme for the first time, and provide your comments. What do you think of it? Catchy? Fun? Horrible? An ear worm? You decide! @melissa@social.mushroomfm.com or melissa@mushroomfm.com. I look forward to hearing your reactions.

On Mushroom FM, we always enjoy bringing you a selection of festive fun at this time of year. You can check out our full Christmas line-up on the schedule page on our website.

It's almost time to wasail our bells off, because two days before Christmas, (that's this coming Saturday,) it'll be Christmas once again on Come by the Hills! Yes, we'll have traditional carols done in a Folky way, some humour, including a look at the tradition of Christmas Mumming in Newfoundland, and yet another version of "A Child's Christmas in Wales" by Dylan Thomas, this time performed by Canadian actor Cedric Smith with musical interludes by Loreena McKennitt.

Christmas is celebrated around the world, but we do a few things differently in Australia. Kangaroos pull Santa's sleigh, we have to deal with summer heat and we drink wine in the sun. But we still eat too much for Christmas.

The "Juke In The Back" focuses on the " soul that came before rock n' roll," the records that inspired Elvis, Buddy Holly, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and countless others.
The "Juke In The Back" presents part 2 of our 2 part vintage Christmas Rhythm & Blues extravaganza that Matt The Cat is calling "Cool Yule."

This week on Deep Dive we listen to music from the place where we celebrate Christmas in the middle of summer. We hear about Santa's sleigh being pulled by six male kangaroos, Santa playing in the swimming pool and - something that happens all around the world, we eat too much for Christmas.

The fun guys thank you, not just for voting so we could assemble our top 100 countdown of holiday songs, but for sharing a little Christmas spirit across the globe by joining in our Christmas party on 16 December. Countdowns are commonplace, but the global sense of togetherness we generate via social media that has become the hallmark of Mushroom FM events is very special. We are honoured that people make a point of making our parties an annual event they can't possibly miss.