Christmas Eve Brings Varied TV Programs

Christmas Eve will be both fun and merry and solemn and religious on television.

On the fun side, CBS will be showing a new animated holiday program, “Santabear’s High Flying Adventure,” at 8:30 tonight, coupled with a repeat of “Bugs Bunny’s Looney Christmas Tales” at 8 p.m. (Channels 2 and 8).

CBS also will be airing again the TV movie that inspired “The Waltons.” It’s titled “The Homecoming: A Christmas Story,” and it will be presented from 9-11 p.m.

Late-night programming will turn more serious and religious.

Channel 2 will show a Nativity pageant in Austria on a program at 11:30 p.m., then air the Christmas midnight service from Yale University at midnight.

NBC at midnight will carry the midnight Mass from St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome on Channels 4, 36 and 39.

ABC’s Channels 7 and 3 at midnight will broadcast Christmas services from St. Louis Cathedral.

In addition, PBS stations tonight will carry “Carols From King’s,” the traditional program given by the men and boys choir at Kings’s College at Cambridge University in England. It can be seen at 8 p.m. on Channel 24, 9 p.m. on Channel 15 and 10 p.m. on Channel 28.

Here are other Christmas Eve TV programs.

Music Center Christmas Program, live, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. (28).

“Southland Children: North Pole Dreams,” a repeat with Melody Rogers, 7:30 p.m. (2).

“Handel’s Messiah With Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus,” 9 p.m. (28).

“A California Christmas,” with Pat and Debby Boone, 9 p.m. (50), midnight (28).

“The Sing-It-Yourself Messiah,” with 3,000 singers in the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, 10 p.m. (50).

“Heart of the Nation,” Christmas Mass celebrated by Archbishop Roger Mahoney of Los Angeles, 11 p.m. (56).

“Christmas With Friends,” a repeat with Johnny Carson and his “Tonight” show sidekicks, plus a 120-voice choir, 11:30 p.m. (4)(36)(39).

“A Christmas Eve Currier & Ives,” montage of Currier & Ives art, plus seasonal music, 11:30 p.m. (9).