To celebrate the season, I’m sharing clips, extras, and behind-the-scenes notes from my one-hour special, “Rick Steves’ European Christmas.” As you watch this clip of choirs performing in Oslo and in Nürnberg, enjoy scenes of winter in Europe. While fields and squares are filled with color and vibrancy in the summer, the naked branches, solitary candles flickering in windows, and lonely vistas of winter offer a peaceful charm with the promise of life and renewal just around the corner. The timel

The festive swirl of heartwarming sights, sounds, and smells of Christmas abound in Austria — the land where the season's most-loved carol, "Silent Night," was first performed over 200 years ago. According to legend, Joseph Mohr, a priest, went out one Christmas night to bless a newborn baby. As he walked home in the snow, he was so moved by the stillness of the starlit, holy night that he wrote a poem about it. He later gave the poem to Franz Gruber, his church organist, who quickly composed a

When it comes to traditional holiday images, Germany’s Bavaria is the heartland. In this clip from “Rick Steves' European Christmas,” we savor classic holiday themes: glittering trees, old-time carols, and colorful Christmas markets. | Rick Steves' Europe