Introduction

Tune into Radio 4 this Christmas for festive cheer and drama, documentaries, comedy and poetry.

There's a mini season of Peter Pan programmes to celebrate the 100th anniversary of JM Barrie's influential work;

Arthur Smith dons a white beard to find out just what people can get up to dressed as Santa in Santarchy;

Edi Stark finds out how winter has shaped British life over the years;

and there's plenty of drama with an adaptation of The Nutcracker, Lorna Doone and Agatha Christie's The Adventure Of The Christmas Pudding.

Plus, poet Brian Patten adapts the story of the Nativity for a small village in Devon in The Dittisham Nativity and there are all the usual comedy favourites from The Now Show to Just A Minute and from Jeremy Hardy to Simon Fanshawe's rummage through the best of the Beeb's comedy archives.