Schools celebrate magical Christmas

Harnessing the sentiments in A Christmas Carol, this year we will all appreciate the simple things

Michael Caine and friends in The Muppet Christmas Carol

Ebenezer Scrooge, as we first meet him in Dickens' novel, A Christmas Carol, might be happy to be around this year. Witnessing our muted celebrations and our decisions to stay at home and keep loved ones apart, he might easily assume his 'Bah, humbug' sentiments were taking hold.

How wrong he would be.

I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a more magical Christmas at school. In my own school and others, students and teachers are finding ways to celebrate the holidays without breaching guidelines. I hear that many schools are embracing best decoration competitions, outdoor concerts and special film screenings. My own kids are excited to bring in popcorn and goodies next week. Children everywhere are working together to create their own celebratory spaces. Using the most sustainable materials like greenery from their grounds, they’re returning to simple pleasures. 

We have all had enough of plenty and our young people are leading the way. They know that small actions can make a big difference.

From an outsider’s perspective, things might look bleak. Yes, our classrooms are unbearably cold these days. We all look miserable in our coats and masks. In fact, I had a Zoom class this week with an expert talking to the students from home. She expressed how guilty she felt, unmasked and in a T-shirt in the comfort of her living room. She felt sorry for us. 

Technology has offered us a lifeline this year, but it can’t capture the atmosphere in a room. She couldn’t feel it of course, but our school spirit has never been stronger. 

This Christmas, being as strange as it is, makes me think about last Christmas and next Christmas too. I imagine myself as Scrooge, being visited by three Christmas ghosts.

Scrooge was transformed by his experience. Has Covid changed us too?

I imagine the Ghost of Christmas Past taking me to my classroom this time last year. The bright flame on his head showing me doing a Christmas quiz with students; all of them are grouped together, backs arched over tiny tables, the heat of their breath on the windows. My voice is getting a little strained. I’m exhausted from various Christmas nights out. I’ve written my reports, marked my exams and I’m ready to see the end of the term. 

I’m wearing an obligatory Christmas jumper, but I’ve kept everything (my quiz included) secular. I’m aware of causing offence to any non-Christians. We all reference a Winter Festival. 

One earnest student is wearing some seasonal clobber, but most of the festive fun is being generated by staff. The classroom is unadorned, the only hint of merriment is a teddy I have placed on the desk, sporting a tinsel tiara. I’ve called her Mrs Subordinate Clause.

I’m relieved to be whisked away by the Ghost of Christmas Present. Back to where I’m now. It’s fitting that, in keeping with the novel, this ghost wears a wreath with icicles. The cold is unbearable. We look up at the paper snowflakes hanging in my room, the Christmas tree made from Post-it notes, the stockings knitted by the same zealous student from the year before. All of it created by students. 

I’m not really doing anything – I’m wandering around, advising them a bit, but this celebration is theirs, it’s just for them. We wish each other a Merry Christmas and we know there’s no fear of causing offence. We understand what we’re saying. We’re giving each other licence to relax, to celebrate the end of a tough year, full of restriction. 

There’s a palpable feeling of gratitude and pride. We’ve made it. The fairy lights hung by gloved hands illuminate the room and light up our eyes, the eyes we can read better than ever before.

The Ghost of Christmas Future arrives in the same black robes of the novel, but her voice is kind and hopeful. She shows me my classroom next year. There is no doom or gloom. The tradition of a student-led celebration has survived. The year has been an easier one, calming in its predictability. 

Funnily enough, we’re studying A Christmas Carol. A young voice reads, “Reflect upon your present blessings – of which every man has many – not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” We all get it – in a way we might not have done without Covid. 

The Ghost of Christmas Future smiles, as we do. Our future world is not bleak; it has brightened. We’ve collectively remembered what matters.

I’m not sure why there’s talk about school needing to finish a couple of days early. Schools are happy places right now – or at least they should be. We’re rightly proud of ourselves. 

We don’t need a national thank you. But we do need autonomy and respect. The schools that have closed to protect the safety of their community should be commended for acting responsibly. Schools are incredibly capable, empathetic places – it’s a shame our government doesn’t always give us enough credit and recognise that.

I’m excited for the year ahead because I think my school has learned important lessons. Covid has been tough for everyone and tragic for some. But there is no towering creature with black robes and a pointing finger on the horizon. Ireland has done well in a time of crisis. We have proven our resilience and humanity.

In the words of Tiny Tim, "God Bless us, every one."