As we head rapidly towards the shortest day of the year there are more photographic opportunities to be had after dark than in the daylight hours...
Photographing after dark in these climes at this time of year often means cold, sub-zero temperatures so the the number one priority is you keeping warm and dry. You need to look after yourself and dress in layers with a waterproof outer shell plus a number of insulating inner garments, to keep you cosy. This needs to extend to appropriate headgear and footwear plus don't forget gloves, numb fingers and shaking hands don’t help in making photographs in the dark in Winter.
Using weather sealed equipment is beneficial; cameras and lenses that are rated weather resistant to freezing and wet conditions are very useful. Use a reasonably fast constant aperture wide ranging zoom so that you don't have to change lenses in the dark and potentially sub-zero/damp conditions. For me typically this will be my OMS Olympus OM-1 with my Olympus M.Zuiko 12-100mm f4 IS Pro.
Take along a small pocket torch so you can see your camera controls when you want to change settings. Add in a spare battery carried in the warmth of an inside pocket and you are all set.