The advent is probably a stressful time everywhere – opposed to what its original intention was. And sometimes you hear from colleagues working in other fields of the museum: “You registrars are lucky. The exhibition opening was in November and you don’t have to organize all those Christmas events…” Oh, if only it were so…

Deck the halls with boughs of holly

Christmas decoration is beautiful. But it also holds a lot of potential conflict. Of course, the decoration should not be dangerous for artifacts. Freshly cut trees from the woods can be the home of various pests, glitter has a tendency to be everywhere, especially where it’s not intended to be, and if you are watching out which materials are used in the vicinity of objects all year you are naturally suspicious about artificial snow from a spray can… It’s plain to see that the registrar is not the most loved colleague when organizing a Christmas party for the patrons of the museum.

All I want for Christmas is you (or a tax deduction)

Just before Christmas many people realize that the tax declaration for this year will be due next year. If you want a tax deduction valid for this year all the paperwork and the physical transfer of this object must be done this year. And that’s why many people want to do something good for the museum in December. The attic and grandma’s cabinet hold a large amount of valuable artifacts, that’s what the noble donor thinks. So, the registrar has to do a lot of checking, organizing transports and issuing deeds of gift.

I saw three ships on Christmas Day

Longterm loans often are issued with an end date of December 31. Now, no one wants to work on New Year’s Eve, so it’s now time for the decision if the loan period should be prolonged or if the object is returned. If it is returned, it’s naturally returned this December. If it stays where it is, the loan contract has to be prolonged. In either case it’s a job for the registrar.

Oh the weather outside is frightful…

The previous two points show that there is much transportation going on around this time of year. Unfortunately, it’s also the time when it’s winter on the Northern hemisphere. Snow, frost, wind, dead leaves… All those things that point towards leaving doors and gates shut. Unfortunately, this isn’t always possible. So the registrar keeps watching the weather reports to choose good days for transport. And he or she keeps a close eye on doors and gates to make sure they are not kept open longer than absolutely necessary – which annoys his or her colleagues who have to bring in the Christmas decoration and chairs for the Christmas party.

Christmas Lights

The days before Christmas you get together, drink some tea and eat Christmas cookies. To make it more comfortable you light a few candles – and get into trouble with your registrar who sees this as a fire hazard. Rightly so as statistics show that around Christmas the number of damages due to fire increase about 40% (in Germany, source). Pro tip: Use LED lights instead of real candles and calm the nerves of your fellow registrar with some cookies.

Along these lines I wish all colleagues a joyful pre-Christmas period despite of all the work!

Angela

This post is also available in Italian translated by Marzia Loddo.