Alex Prager, Jane Kallir, Benjamin Godsill and others shared their favorite holiday traditions.

Always beckoning and cheering at the end of the year-after all, we have survived another year (this year we didn't think so). But even if the times are full of uncertainty and seriousness, we still want to know what our compatriots in the art world will do during the holidays to spread joy and mark the passage of time.

We reached out to the entire industry to discover some of our favorite consultants and artists' favorite holiday ceremonies. Check out their highlights below!

Alex and Vanessa Prager. Photo by Jeff Moore. Thanks to the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York, Hong Kong, Seoul and London.

My sister Vanessa and I always spend Thanksgiving and Christmas together in California. We are all avid chefs, so usually on Thanksgiving, we stop hosting big banquets at home and entertain 20 or more friends. We cook a few days before the holiday and start from scratch. In addition to food, we also make decorations for trees. Last year, we upgraded to small ceramic stars and trees fired in our mother's kiln. We also made crocheted figures, 3D printing and paper pulp. Of course there are paintings and photos of different family members.

A recipe book by Nancy Holt from the Holt/Smithsonian Foundation Library. Lisa Le Feuvre pointed out that unexpected guests should not expect these dishes.

My 102-year-old lively grandmother has been reminding me of an important holiday tradition, and she assured me that it is standard practice on the small island of Guernsey where we come from. She insisted on arranging dinner places for uninvited guests in the last week of the old year and the first week of the new year. I try to follow the rules, but the fact is that I always set two positions. During the holidays, I believe that unexpected guests will always appear, so you need to be cautious and be prepared for the truly unexpected guests.

My grandparents Otto and Fanny Kallir fled Austria after the Nazi merger, and arrived in New York in September 1939. They brought many "old world" holiday traditions. My grandmother will start baking Christmas cookies in early December — my sister Barbara continues this practice today at her California home. As children, Barbara and I helped bake and make holiday decorations. But the most precious decorations are those that have survived a trip to Austria, including enamel figures made by Maria Dolnytska, an artist represented by my grandfather’s Vienna gallery. Like most Austrians, we celebrated on Christmas Eve, and Barbara and I waited in the corridors of our grandparents' apartment on the Riverside Avenue until everything was ready. Then we were called to the living room, where it was: a huge tree with real candles on it. (Many years later, my husband will be frightened by this part of the tradition, but the smell of candle wax has always been synonymous with celebration for me.)

On Christmas Day, our holiday tradition is to take a family portrait in front of a 200-year-old tree on our Shelter Island property. In most years, there are 20 to 30 people, and a group of us will sit on tall branches. Last year, the weather was very cold and the world was still under lockdown, so we were the only ones who showed up, but we still have to keep our traditions. We hope that there will be more crowds this year. 

Sidival Fila, a Franciscan monk and artist, lives in a monastery in the Roman Forum after midnight mass. He donated his profits to poor children in the school.

I did a midnight collective crawl in Rome. I started very early, and I know the start time is 2:30 or 3 in the morning. I also attended the midnight mass in Sidival Fila at 11:30 PM, and then I drank Prosecco in his monastery. This is my favorite night of the year. The street is empty. The sound of family eating at home. Then I got up early and rode my bike to my favorite church for Christmas morning services; I rode my bike to the Vatican. Sometimes it is magical for me to appreciate art in the church by candlelight.

Smoked salmon and caviar breakfast.

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