PBS fun: music, dance and Van Dyke’s 100th

After re-fighting some wars, PBS will retreat to a cheery holiday mood.
It will have new editions of two holiday mainstays — the Tabernacle Choir and the “Nutcracker” ballet. It will also have some fun on the 100th birthday of Dick Van Dyke (shown here in “Mary Poppins”) and some Christmas warmth with “Call the Midwife.”
Lately, the network has focused on Ken Burns’ epic “American Revolution” (concluding Friday, Nov. 21), a Burns follow-up discussion (9 p.m. Nov. 24) and a quietly moving film with Michael Caine as a D-Day veteran (9 p.m. Nov. 23). After that, things get lighter with:
— Nov. 25: “Lidia Celebrates America,” 9 p.m. Lidia Bastianich celebrates the diversity of food and people in the U.S.
— Dec. 12: “Starring Dick Van Dyke,” 9 p.m. On his 100th birthday, “American Masters” offers a cheery profile of Van Dyke — from early pantomimes to his TV series, three vibrant movie musicals (“Bye Bye Birdie,” “Mary Poppins” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”) and beyond.
— Dec. 14: “Happiness,” 8 p.m., In six quick half-hours, we see a story of a Broadway director, suddenly back home in New Zealand, living in his boyhood room and helping his mother direct the community musical.
— Dec. 15: “Christmas With the Tabernacle Choir,” 8-9:30 p.m. Broadway’s Ruthie Ann Miles is backed by almost 500 singers and musicians. Dennis Haysbert does the readings.
— Dec. 16: “The Nutcracker,” 8-9:30. Tchaikovsky’s 1892 classic gets a fresh rendition from the English National Ballet, with more than 100 dancers. That’s followed at 9:30 by an “American Masters” portrait of George Lee, a pioneering Asian dancer who had a featured “Nutcracker” role 70 years ago, as an immigrant from China.
— Dec. 25 (in some cases, but varying with stations): “Call the Midwife” has its annual Christmas movie. This time, the nurses escape the London cold and go on a mercy mission to Hong Kong.