Hey academic twitter rather than the “We have to work over Christmas” V “You are terrible if you do work over Christmas” how about adopting “You do you” and letting people do it their way?— Dr Emily Garside (@EmiGarside) December 22, 2018
What started (as most good things do) as a good old fashioned subtweet has come to sumarise some of my feelings about the season. And created a few more.
The point of the tweet was that many academics (and creatives for that matter) will be spending part of Christmas working in some capacity. Many of us will be working at our 'Day jobs' in retail or hospitality, or indeed at our 'real jobs' in the theatre for some of it. Whether it's for money or creativity, well done, and may the Christmas asshats be few (I'll be running the gallery Christmas eve, and grateful this year it's unlikely I'll get shouted at by customers on Christmas eve).
But many of us will be working elsewhere over the break as well. Many will be reading, writing, editing beavering away on projects because the Christmas break gives them some downtime, and more importantly headspace to do that.
The flip side: if you need Christmas off to totally switch off and recharge, then come back at it in the New Year. Crack on! you do you.
Of course the 'You need a break, it's bad working practice to work over the break' neglects a key factor: many academics (and creatives) have a job outside their 'real work' to pay the bills. So the shut down over Christmas is a rare and ideal time to do some 'real work' when the rest of the world has stopped for a couple of weeks. It's actually a privilege to have that 'You must have a real break' mentality. And maybe some people need to remember that, and check their privilege before they tell others how to manage their time, run their lives or their careers.
Oh also the minor detail perhaps that not all academics (or creatives) are Christian....or celebrate Christmas in any way. And as I said in a follow up tweet, I'm not suggesting anyone references over Christmas dinner, but by 27th December when it's pissing down with rain and there's nothing good on TV...well a few hours writing sound like utter bliss to many of us.
Because here's the other thing, this 'take a break for Christmas' assumes everyone has a log-burning-on-the-fire-families-playing-games Christmas.
And that's the other side of what I've been thinking a lot this year.
I'm sick of feeling second-rate because I don't play board games at Christmas.
Firstly, board games are fairly hard to play when you're an only child and it's just you and your Mum. Secondly, the board games playing, no TV on Christmas, presents after lunch...seems like a weird Middle Class parallel world that looks nothing like my Christmases past or present.
More importantly the frankly nauseating refrain of 'Christmas being about family' but meaning a very specific version of 'family' that involves large gatherings of extended family makes people like me, with no real extended family to speak of, feel a bit...well flat inside.
So while I might joke that Christmas involves drinking gin and watching crap telly with Mum because I'm common as muck. But also you can't help but feel like not having a family to sing carols with in some pseudo Dickensian manner around a tree is somehow a personal failing.
Add to that the being a certain age and not running around with partner, kids etc of my own. And my Hallmark Christmas gets viewed as more and more tragic. I don't know what it is this year, but because I'm not 'driving home for Christmas' being so excited to see a plethora of extended family or celebrating with a picture perfect family, but instead staying where I always do, contemplating what work I can get done in the quiet time...I feel like I'm failing at Christmas.
None of that is to judge anyone who does, and genuinely enjoys that kind of Christmas. That's great, and truly I'm happy for whatever makes any of us happy. But I know there's loads of us out there with weird mixed up families, people we'd rather not spend time with. Odd traditions, no traditions. And all those who've lost people they wish were here. This is all for you. Just because your Christmas doesn't look like a film. Just because you do your own thing (maybe you go to the pub, eat Chinese food, celebrate a day early or late). This one's for you. Let's all do us.
More importantly I'm sick of feeling a bit rubbish and sad because Christmas for me doesn't look like it 'should'. Honestly? Christmas films don't do it for me. I'm not big on Christmas parties. I'm not big on family (having never really had one of those big family-type families). You know what I'm big on? making and eating a metric shit tonne of food. Hanging out with my Mum. Watching crap telly. Drinking. All of these things bring me actual joy.
And on Boxing Day, if I feel like doing some writing, rather than sitting there feeling guilty about wasted time. I bloody well will. Because in the long term that'll make me happy too. In the short term as well. Because there's only so much shit TV I can watch.
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