... joined the Ensemble of the Deutsche Oper Berlin this season. Over the festive season she likes lacing Christmas drinks with herbs  — In Armenia we traditionally celebrate Christmas on 6th January. On the 5th, which is our Christmas Eve, we light candles in our homes and churches to celebrate the shortening nights and the slow return of the light. When I was small, we would fetch consecrated water from the church in remembrance of the baptism of Jesus. I loved our Christmas dinner. Grandma always does a special rice dish called pilaf, mixing in a lovely sweet dressing made of nuts and dried fruits. In my hometown of Gyumri, where I grew up, we call it »pilaf with dowry«. It’s eaten with steamed trout and herbs – and red wine symbolising the blood of Christ. And singing is a big part of it for me. When I was 12, I started giving Christmas concerts with my choir, but for many years now I’ve been doing things differently, celebrating with friends in the States. We put Whitney Houston’s Holiday Album on the turntable and play it nonstop. My favourite track is »Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas«. We even have our own little tradition, every year thinking up a new Christmas drink. Last year we made pomegranate punch and the year before homemade mulled wine. This time we’re mixing rosemary and raspberries into champagne. Mmm! —

... grew up in South Korea – and can trace his singing career to one particular Christmas carol. — In my teens I was a huge fan of Boyz II Men and my favourite song of theirs was »Silent night, holy night«. The blissful harmonies that can issue from human bodies, astonishing! I was even in a small band that covered that song. I knew then that I wanted to be a singer. I lived in Canada for many years – and guess why I miss that country at Christmas: yes, it’s the turkeys. And the cranberry sauce. So delicious! Pity I can’t seem to cook the meal like our friends do in Canada, so my wife and I do it the Korean way at Christmas. But it doesn’t come close to the turkey. And there’s one aspect of Christmas in Germany that I’ve come to love: the Baumkuchen. Every year we buy a huge one in a small bakery in Tiergarten. —

... is a member of the chorus of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. At the end of the year she celebrates the return of the light  — I’ve adored Christmas ever since I was small, the lights, the decorations, even though it’s hardly a big event in the Iranian calendar. Our big day is 21st December, ending in Yalda Night, which marks the winter solstice. Basically, we celebrate the fact that the days are now getting longer. Nowadays I celebrate both festivals, not for religious reasons but because I like to honour the light and the colours. To brighten up the darkness the food we eat at Yalda is mostly red or orange in colour: pomegranate, persimmons, watermelons, even though they’re really hard to come by at this time of the year in Iran. We spend the entire night eating! And we read from the Divan, the famous collection of poems by Hafez. His texts are like oracles. We come up with a question and then choose a poem at random, which we read aloud as the response to the question. —

As December progresses here thoughts turn to her childhood in Japan, to New Year’s Day and food and prayers — My family is Shinto and we don’t normally celebrate Christmas. Our festival is the New Year, on 1^st January. We used to get up at dawn on New Year’s Day and go to the temple and pray that the family would stay healthy the whole year. New Year in Japan is also celebrated with a communal meal. My mother used to spend days cooking and stacking up in big boxes the dishes that would keep. Everything relating to the food is imbued with meaning: the types of fish being eaten, the order of dishes, even the way the fish is wrapped in seaweed. My mother usually flies in from Japan, bringing all the ingredients with her in her luggage, but this year she can’t come because of Covid and I can’t get hold of all the things I need. We have a saying in Japan: All the chopsticks in a pot only tighten friendship’s knot. I think I’m going to make a fondue this year. That’s another dish where everyone eats out of a single pot. —

... is an Event Technology trainee learning lighting, sound and stage machinery – and is getting used to the idea that she will soon have to spend some of the Christmas holiday working — I moved to Berlin 18 months ago to train and have hardly been back home since, so the holiday is first and foremost about the joy of seeing my parents again. We sit round catching up on news, decorating the tree in red and gold. When I was small, we always used to go to the market and buy a lovely glitter ball for the Christmas tree. My favourite ball is gold, in the shape of a star, gleaming from whatever angle you look at it. If you work in a theatre, the only day you really get off is Christmas Eve. Obviously I can think of better things to do than work over Christmas, but this is my dream job, so… Holding my breath with the others backstage, wondering if everything’ll go according to plan – that’s worth a few sacrifices. —

... has lived in Germany for seven years. If he could have one wish, it would be to see a live performance of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio  — This year it’ll be just my wife and me, with maybe a visit from a friend. We do dumplings. I mix the dough from flour, salt and water, roll it out thin, cut it to size. My wife makes the filling – meat, leek and ginger – and wraps it. In Taiwan we eat dumplings in February to celebrate the Chinese New Year, the most important festival in the calendar. Everyone gets ten days off and they get together with family, set off fireworks and play mahjong till dawn. Here in Berlin we listen to Bach’s Christmas Oratorio over the holiday. It’s a big thing for me. I’ve never seen it done live – and it doesn’t look like this year will be the first. But who knows? Maybe things will work out after all. —

Over Advent, Costa Rican violinist André Robles Field keeps a family tradition alive: he decorates his nativity scene  — In Costa Rica we celebrate all through December: every family cooks tamales at the beginning of the month, little envelopes stuffed with meat and steamed in leaves. It doesn’t matter who turns up at the house at Advent, they all get fed tamales. Then the nativity scene is set up. My parents’ one measures three metres by three metres and takes up about half the room. You’ve got the Holy Family at the centre surrounded by Bethlehem with its houses and animals. My grandma’s even got a river running through hers, with real running water! Last year my mother gave me my own nativity scene, but it’s not very big yet. Sometimes my thoughts go back to how I used to go from house to house with my family, playing guitars, handing out songs like gifts. I might just start doing that here, for friends and colleagues. —