In India, we don't celebrate Christmas with as much grandeur as other countries. Nevertheless, we enjoy the Christmas spirit. Many people decorate their homes, decorate Christmas trees, and bake treats. We recently had a Christmas party at our office, where we had a Secret Santa. Each team member was assigned a ‘Secret Santa’ beforehand and on the day of the party we put a little something for that person under the Christmas tree. That was a lot of fun for everyone.

The Hindu equivalent of Christmas is Diwali, which we celebrate in autumn. During this colourful festival, we exchange gifts, wear new clothes, and pray to the goddess of wealth. Therefore, for us non-Christians, Christmas is a time to relax, stroll through shopping malls, watch films, or even go on holiday. That's exactly what my wife and I did last year. We went to a place called Pondicherry in South India. We had breakfast in nice cafés, read a few pages of a book, visited a church, and went for a walk on the beach. Christmas for us is also a time to spend with our loved ones.

The day before Christmas Eve is all about cooking and baking. My grandmothers, my mother, my aunt, and I spend time in the kitchen preparing traditional dishes for the Wigilia dinner. I love dumplings, fish, borscht (a traditional soup), and delicious desserts such as poppy seed cake and cheesecake. We traditionally drink ‘compote’, a drink made from dried fruit, which is only served once a year at Christmas in our house.

On Christmas Eve, we cook the final dishes and set the festive table. In Poland, an additional plate is set out to symbolise the ‘unexpected guest’. It symbolises hospitality, generosity, and togetherness. It's a beautiful reminder of the values of kindness and openness that the season embodies.

The Wigilia feast begins in the late afternoon, as dusk falls. The first stars in the sky remind us of the Star of Bethlehem and herald the start of the festivities. Before the meal, we break the opłatek, a thin wafer, and exchange heartfelt wishes with each other. This is an important ritual for my family. Then we serve the festive meal, consisting of twelve meatless dishes, which represent the twelve apostles.

After dinner, we gather to sing Christmas carols, which we all enjoy. Then comes the moment that the youngest members of the family have been eagerly awaiting: the presents! Gifts that have been lying under the Christmas tree are given and unwrapped amongst the family.

Christmas Day as well as the day after Christmas is the perfect opportunity to visit extended family and friends. We eat and chat, and take the opportunity to go for a walk in the fresh air. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much snow in my neighbourhood last year. But not long after Christmas, the landscape in Poland turned white after all.

We don't decorate a traditional Christmas tree, but have a wooden tree we decorate with various cuddly toys and lots of chocolate. Christmas tree ornaments hang on our windows and add to the festive atmosphere.

Last year, our festivities began on 23 December. The first festive meal was enjoyed that evening after a lot of preparations during the day. Mauro's godmother was also invited, who brought the first presents for the children.

The 24 December is always the highlight. Last year, the day began with a sumptuous brunch, followed by plenty of time for the children to play followed by more preparations for the evening. My parents-in-law joined us in the afternoon to celebrate. We don't have a particularly strict schedule, because the two children require a bit of flexibility. With both grandparents as well as aunts and uncles on site, the children were kept busy and there were still enough helping hands left to work in the kitchen.

In the late afternoon, we gathered for an aperitif and the first presents were unwrapped. The children's new toys were immediately put to the test. This was followed by a festive and sumptuous meal. We enjoyed the evening as a large family, and after much playing and talking, the children were finally put to bed. The 24 December is a truly fulfilling day every year!

The 25 December was quieter but incredibly cosy. To round off the festive season, we were invited to dinner at my mother's house on 26 December.

In Mexico, Christmas is celebrated on December 24th with the closest relatives. I celebrate with my family at my grandparents' house, together with uncles, aunts, cousins and cousins. Nieces and nephews have also recently been added to the family.

The whole evening is dedicated to the birth of Jesus. It is very important for us to express our gratitude for all the positive events experienced during the year. That's why we start the evening with the piñatas. Piñatas are colourful, papier-mâché figures. They are filled with treats, hung on a rope, and smashed with a stick. This is fun for both children and adults! According to tradition, the piñatas symbolise the seven deadly sins, which is why they are shaped like a star with seven points at Christmas. When you smash them, you are blindfolded, symbolising that faith overcomes sin. The sweets or fruit inside the piñata represents God's blessings.

Afterwards, we gather to pray and sing around a figurine of baby Jesus. Gifts are then exchanged. As there are over 20 of us, this can take a while! At the end of the gift-giving, ‘aguinaldos’, small bags of sweets, are distributed.

In our family, we show love to our dearest ones by cooking for them. Christmas dinner is an important part of the celebrations, and everyone contributes something. Either we cook together, or each family member takes on a dish or is assigned a task. Our festive meal begins by giving thanks for being able to spend another year with the family. Traditional Christmas dishes include: spicy pork leg (everything has to be spicy in Mexico!), pasta, ayocotes (fire beans), chipotle chillies stuffed with goat's cheese, bread, apple salad, cod, punch, and desserts. It is important that there is always a little too much food, as we meet again on 25 December to spend even more time together and eat the leftovers. We call this a ‘recalentado’.

Last year, we celebrated Christmas on a small scale. Not only my parents, but also my parents-in-law now live in Croatia and were visited by our siblings. So, our Christmas celebrations began on the morning of 24 December. We put out a glass of milk and 2–3 homemade cookies for Santa Claus and a few carrots for the reindeer. Then the waiting began. This was sweetened for our two daughters with visits from their two godmothers. The presents they brought, unwrapped and played with straight away. But of course, the little ones kept checking in the living room to see if Santa has already been there and brought the ‘right’ presents.

After the two godmothers said goodbye in the late afternoon, my husband Kristian took the children into the nursery to play. And then it happened... Santa puts all the presents under the tree, ate his biscuits, and drank his milk. When he left the house, he left the door ajar. We think it's because he had to carry the sack of presents and the carrots for his reindeer.

After being in the kids’ room for a while, I played the sound of chiming bells in the living room on my cell phone. This was our signal to hurry into the living room and look out the window, as maybe we would see Santa Claus leaving our house. Then the present giving began. The ‘real’ presents are unwrapped and we shout ‘Thank you, dear Santa Claus’ out loud. Of course, I didn't want to miss out on scolding Santa a bit about the crumbs and milk stains he has left behind—our daughters found this particularly funny.

We rounded off the evening with a delicious dinner. As we have Croatian roots but grew up in Switzerland, both cultures come together in the Christmas meal: Sarma (a mixture of rice and minced meat wrapped in fermented cabbage leaves) and vegetarian pita (thin, rolled-up dough topped with small pieces of potato) meet mashed potatoes and farmhouse bread.