CMA's Country Christmas special highlights 'family, gathering and music'

The 2023 edition of the Country Music Association's ABC-broadcasted "Country Christmas" arrives on Dec. 14, airing from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. EST.

Hosted by Amy Grant and Trisha Yearwood, a press release states that the event emanating from Belmont University's Fisher Center for the Performing Arts aims to showcase "festive classics and one-of-a-kind musical performances."

This year's event features Grant and Yearwood performing "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" and being accompanied by superstar violinist Lindsey Stirling for "Joy to the World." The lineup also includes Jordan Davis ("O Come All Ye Faithful"), Lady A ("What Christmas Means to Me"), Ashley McBryde with Stirling ("You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch"), Jon Pardi ("Beer for Santa"), The War And Treaty ("Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)") and Zach Williams with Lainey Wilson ("Go Tell It On The Mountain").

While speaking to The Tennessean at the event's taping, Grant -- whose holiday season activities have long included appearing alongside her husband, Vince Gill, at a Ryman Auditorium performance residency -- the event symbolizes the inherently human and country music-defined intersection of family, gathering and music.

CMA's Country Christmas on ABC: How to watch, who's performing

She fondly recalls a childhood spent watching holiday specials hosted by country music and culture-related icons, including Andy Williams and animated features starring Charlie Brown and the "Peanuts" comic-strip gang, plus "The Grinch That Stole Christmas" and "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" as "must watch TV" that begat "beautiful, magical traditions."

For Lady A -- who has appeared on "Country Christmas" specials roughly every other year since the group united in 2006 -- singing Stevie Wonder's "What Christmas Means to Me" allowed them to continue personal and group traditions of harmonious holiday caroling to quintessential holiday classics.

A country music holiday season -- especially one that finds both Miranda Lambert and Reba McEntire delivering cookbooks with holiday-themed recipes -- isn't complete without Yearwood. Alongside being a Grand Ole Opry member and multiple-time chart-topping performer, the "She's in Love with the Boy" singer, Food Network host and fellow cookbook author also possesses a "No-Baste, No-Bother Roasted Turkey" recipe that everyone from Miranda Lambert to country music fans worldwide has favored for 15 years.

About a time of year when everything -- from her vocal performances to the kitchen table -- is symbolic of the genre's love of the holidays, Yearwood stated that more than anything, similar to Grant, an adoration of generational family traditions and the ability to relax and enjoy time with those close to her is what she hopes people receive from her work during the Christmas season.

Lindsey Stirling may seem an outlier on the CMA Country Christmas lineup. However, the two-time Billboard Music Award-winning violinist's energetic live stylings are a can't-miss addition to the program.

Noted for her version of "Carol of the Bells," Stirling's performance of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" alongside Ashley McBryde features the violinist dressed in a manner meant to mimic the eventually kind-hearted Dr. Seuss character.

Filmed in front of a live audience, "CMA Country Christmas" airs Dec. 14 on ABC and next day on Hulu and Disney+.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: CMA's Country Christmas special highlights 'family, gathering and music'