It’s January. Cold. Dark. Holiday fun is behind us. But wait! There are very good things about January. Like all the holiday “fun” is finally behind us.

What’s ahead? Loads of free time and amazing arts to fill up the calendar. Here are a few faves to warm your heart and sway your soul.

Beethoven & Romanticism

Symphony Hall, Boston Symphony Orchestra

All month long, the BSO and its maestro, Andris Nelsons, presents this Beethoven festival. The heart of fest is the complete cycle of the composer’s nine symphonies, performed in order at Symphony Hall for the first time since 1927. Not to miss, No. 9 and “Ode to Joy” featuring an astounding guest list —  soprano Amanda Majeski, mezzo-soprano Tamara Mumford, tenor Pavel Černoch, and baritone Andrè Schuen. Starts Jan. 8, bso.org

“Ain’t No Mo”

Calderwood Pavilion, SpeakEasy Stage Company/Front Porch Arts Collective

Dark, smart, funny, and sadly timely, this one-act from writer Jordan E. Cooper examines what it is to be Black in America. The satire has the U.S. government “solving racism” by offering Black Americans a free one-way ticket to Africa. It’s Black drag queen and flight attendant Peaches job to manage the passengers leaving from Gate 1619. Starts Jan. 10, frontporcharts.org

Boston Celtic Music Festival

Multiple Venues

Club Passim presents its 22nd annual Boston Celtic Music Festival in mid-January. A few friends are lending a hand. Along with shows at Passim, music, song, and dance traditions from Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton, Quebecois, and other Celtic communities will be on stages at Somerville Theatre, Crystal Ballroom, The Burren, and The Rockwell. Starts. Jan. 16, passim.org/bcmfest

“Peter Pan”

Citizens Opera House, Broadway in Boston

A new twist on an old classic, this version of “Peter Pan” hasn’t grown up but the material has. The cruel and cliched depictions of Native peoples and women have been removed thanks to a book update by Sicangu Lakota Nation member and 2020 MacArthur Fellow Larissa FastHorse. What remains is the humor, heart, story, songs, and magic. Director Lonny Price says the new tweak is the perfect gateway to theater for young people. “Part of why I wanted to do this is that it will be kids’ first experience in the theater, and I want them not only to fall in love with ‘Peter Pan,’ ” he told the Associated Press, “but to fall in love with the theater and to come back.” Starts Jan. 21, boston.broadway.com

Sarah Silverman

The Wilbur

Laugh it off. Or try to. 2025 is going to be a lot and Sarah Silverman knows that. On Jan. 25, join the funniest, dirtiest, smartest wit in the stand-up scene for jokes about, well, hmm, it’s hard to list any of the topics she likes to joke about here in print. If Silverman’s not your thing, this month the Wilbur also welcomes Tracy Morgan and Russell Peters. thewilbur.com

Sarah Silverman will appear at the Wilbur Jan. 25. Here, she performs at the Ryman Auditorium in 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)