Merry Christmas!
The Nutcracker, Christmas carols, Christmas movies, Christmas markets, delicious hot drinks, sweet and savoury treats, wintery outdoor activities – as the days are getting darker and colder, the magic of the season takes over.
TWoA asked four of the artists portrayed in some of our most popular interviews about their favourite seasonal activities. Curl up with a hot drink and enjoy the spirit of this season.
What is your favourite Christmas season activity?
Eunike Tanzil, composer: I enjoy doing Christmas shopping for my family the most.
Sumina Studer, violinist and music entrepreneur:
Probably ice skating, baking cookies and attending Christmas parties because of great singing together and the cozy vibes. Also, on Christmas, my family and I, we whip out our instruments. My sister is a cellist, her boyfriend is a violist, my cousin is a guitarist and bassist, my dad is a pianist and my mom is a singer. There are a lot of people in the family who are musicians. We love to make music together, especially at Christmas, because we all get together this one time a year. It’s magical.
Isabella McGuire Mayes, Founder of “Ballet with Isabella:”
Walking around Christmas markets. I just love the cold air whilst you are holding a nice warm cup of tea or hot chocolate and looking at nice pieces of Christmas stuff. Along with that, I really enjoy going to buy and pick-up the Christmas tree and decorating it. That’s my favourite thing.
Seokyoung Hong, piano student, winner of the Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition 2023:
I don’t know if this could be classified as an activity, but around the Christmas season every year, I play different carols transcriptions (by me) in a slightly jazzy style. I record them in my home, and doing this really brings me the end-of-year holiday vibe which I enjoy a lot.
What is your favourite Christmas food (sweet or savoury)?
Eunike: Hmm.. I don't have a sweet tooth, so I'd say mashed potatoes!
Sumina: We celebrate Christmas as a very big family. The extended family comes together in Switzerland where I’m from. My uncle usually gets really amazing game – deer – which is quite popular and abundant in Switzerland. He gets it from a local hunter, and he always knows how to make the best of that. Combined with glazed chestnuts and red cabbage, this is one of my favourite foods.
Isabella: That’s a difficult one. I think my favourite Christmas food would just have to be the Christmas dinner. It’s just really nice, whether it’s meat or fish, with the gravy. I love roasted root vegetables, they are so delicious, especially with a yummy honey glaze. I’m much more of a savoury person, I enjoy that over the sweat stuff.
Seokyoung: As a young child, I used to love sweet candies. But as I grow older and especially as I don’t live with my parents, I get to value the togetherness of my family more since it is one of the times where I am usually with them. I don’t think there is this representative food, such as the Thanksgiving-turkey relationship, associated with Christmas, and I find whatever I eat with my family is delicious.
What is your favourite Christmas movie?
Eunike: Definitely Elf.
Sumina: I cannot decide between Home Alone and Love Actually, a British classic.
Isabella: Oh my gosh! That’s a hard one to choose. I’ve got two. I’ve got The Holiday, because it is such a feelgood movie with some fabulous actors in it. It’s super fun and romantic and it’s got some lovely Christmas cottages in it. You just feel very cosy and happy when you watch it. I love The Nightmare before Christmas which is an animated film by Tim Burton which is just really amazing and completely different. It’s a childhood movie I grew up with and watched religiously around Halloween or Christmas time. It sparked that mystical, creative mind that we have as dancers.
Seokyoung: I am not a big movie person and don’t know much about the movies. Despite it being quite cliché, I have the joyful memory of my young self watching “Home Alone” with my friends.
What is your favourite Christmas song, or your favourite piece of Christmas music?
Eunike: I love the theme from "The Polar Express" by Alan Silvestri and "Somewhere In My Memory" by John Williams.
Sumina: Probably the same one as my grandmother’s, which is probably why I love this Christmas song so much, because it always reminds me of her. It’s called “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen” (“Lo, how a rose e’er blooming”). We sing this every year. I insist on it, it’s actually usually me who’s making us sing it at Christmas with the extended family, choir style, which is very nice.
Isabella: I reckon I’m not really a Christmas song person. When I go into the supermarket and I hear a Christmas song, I think: “Oh, jeez, here we are again!” But if I had to choose, I think it would be something like Mariah Carey, “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” That’s a great one.
Seokyoung: Alongside the Christmas carols with catchy melodies, I would definitely choose The Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky. I also have a somewhat abstract but clear memory of watching the ballet on the television when I was much younger.
You might also enjoy:
Eunike Tanzil, Composer, Pianist and Producer: On “Star Wars,” Composing and Finding Your Voice
Sumina Studer, Violinist and Music Entrepreneur: London’s Hidden Music and Art Spots
Isabella McGuire Mayes: Life Lessons from Great Teachers
Ballet with Isabella: ‘I Really Fell in Love with Helping People!’