There’s a lot of talk about festive spirit at Christmas. Despite the largely consumerist nature of the Christian festival these days, there remains a strong element of goodwill and generosity in the spirit of the season. The collision of material excess and feverish gluttony with the awareness that this is the darkest, coldest, and for many, most lonely time of the year, precipitates charitable initiatives and galvanises people around a cause. If you’re looking for an example of this “festive spirit”, switch on your radio to Phantom’s old frequency, FM 105.2. You’ll be greeted by a barrage of festive messages to and from grannys, dads, primary school teachers, long lost loves and new fiances. Welcome to Christmas FM! It’s a messy, cheesy affair, that attracts and repels in equal measure. While round-the-clock Christmas hits strike some as the pinnacle of mawkish seasonal excess, for others Christmas FM represents everything that’s best about this time of year: community spirit, charity, and all your favourite one-hit-wonders.
Co-founded by Irish radio veteran, Garvan Rigby in 2007, Christmas FM is a temporary radio station that broadcasts on various FM frequencies around the country from the end of November all the way to Christmas day. It’s staffed by presenters who give up their time for free, and sponsored by various companies each year, which allows them to donate all of the money they make from texts and donations straight to their charity partner. This unusual fundraising model has proven extremely successful: last year, they raised €265,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation in one month alone.
Focus Ireland is their chosen charity this year. An Irish organisation founded in 1985, they provide housing assistance to homeless people, as well as education and supports to those who are at risk of homelessness. This Christmas, Focus Ireland are aiming to help 300 families out of homeless with the money raised by Christmas FM. The charity have estimated that up to 2,500 children will be homeless on Christmas day this year – this reflects the approximately 50 percent increase in family homelessness seen since the start of 2016. Homelessness is an issue that’s at the forefront of people’s minds during the winter, and at Christmas especially. The thought that a family might not have a tree under which to hide their presents, or an individual might not have a table to sit around for Christmas dinner, pricks many a conscience. Organisations working in the sector see donations skyrocket during December. The challenge for NGO’s is to work out how to harvest the season’s goodwill and direct it towards where it’s needed.
Christmas FM have struck gold with their method of fundraising by devising a platform that has nationwide reach. This year they’ve expanded the service worldwide: at www.christmasfm.com, you can listen live, and submit dedications for two euro a pop by filling in their online form. As well as increasing revenue, this allows homesick Irish emigrants – or indeed anyone who might be craving a dose of the Irish festive spirit – to get in on the action.
Whether or not you see the appeal of the festive musical excess that the station provides (full disclosure: we’ve had it on in the office all weekend), Christmas FM is a quirky phenomenon that attests to the power and influence the radio still holds in contemporary Irish society. With nearly 100,000 followers on Facebook and double that figure expected to be raised in monetary terms from listeners, there is clearly huge potential for being creative with radio. Christmas FM shows that listeners are ready and willing to “turn the dial” (sorry, Newstalk) away from the usual fair of public transport sob stories, news roundups and football commentary when there’s something new on offer. Stations like this might even be attracting new listeners to the radio, something which the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, who grant Christmas FM their temporary license each year, must be keen to encourage. As BAI’s director, Michael O’Keeffe, has said: “Christmas FM underlines the important role that radio plays in Ireland. Not alone does it get the nation in good spirits, but it is hugely important in promoting charitable giving and goodwill.” This might sound like an overstatement, but it’s probably not far from the truth. Radio is a medium with a distinctively personal character, and in Ireland it remains a bulwark of local community. Despite the international fare on offer via the internet, the familiar voices of Irish radio broadcasters are dominant in people’s cars and kitchens, which gives radio a distinctive edge on communicating and connecting with the national mood.
Turn that dial and let yourself be transported from the library to a Winter Wonderland of Jingle Bells, Mistletoe and Wine. Thank God It’s Christmas!
Our favourite Christmas FM hits:
Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer – Elmo & Patsy (1979)
Just about irritating enough to become endearing with repeated listens.
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa – The Ronettes (1963) / The Jackson 5 (1970) / Jessica Simpson (2004)
Pure comedy value. We hope this song wasn’t inspired by real events.
Thank God It’s Christmas – Queen (1984)
Freddie Mercury’s crooning provides relatively chill interludes amongst all the festive madness.
Driving Home for Christmas – Chris Rea (1988)
The first track played on Christmas FM this year, and forever our favourite seasonal anthem.
