WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Die Hard (1988). If you’ve never seen the film and want to avoid spoilers, I suggest skipping this one or watching the movie first before you read this Christmas tech tip. 

Here’s a fun thing to do at Christmas dinner: start the debate as to whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie. (Or burst everybody’s bubble by saying that the iconic duct scene in Die Hard couldn’t happen in real life. Show me sheet metal and strapping that can support—or even fit—the average adult male. I’ll wait.) 

I’m in the camp that says, yes, Die Hard IS a Christmas movie, even when it doesn’t seem so on the surface (and calling it “Christmas-adjacent” is a cop-out). It’s not because of the setting or the score; it’s because it gives me a feeling that reminds me of other Christmas films. 

Think of some Christmas classics: A Christmas Carol, It’s a Wonderful Life, and even The Polar Express. They’re classics because they make people feel a special way—the same way that Christmas decorations get us in the holiday spirit. 

What is Christmas Really About?

Most of the HVAC School audience is based in North America (specifically the USA), and we have a strong consumer culture in this country. In the general public, Christmas is synonymous with a combination of symbols: trees all decked out with ornaments and topped with an angel or star, gingerbread houses, stockings, Santa Claus, and even Starbucks red cups have been ingrained in our society’s vision of Christmas. Alone, those things don’t mean very much. Together, those objects create a feeling of familial belonging and joy. 

The resolutions of good Christmas films are no different—and even though Die Hard incorporates Christmas symbolism and imagery differently than most traditional Christmas films, it actually fits right in thematically. John McClane leaves the scene with his wife in his arms, sharing a kiss in the back of a limo—sure, he’s bloody, and it’s not the same wholesome joy we see at the end of the first official episode of The Simpsons when Santa’s Little Helper joins the family after their financial struggles (and after he finished dead last in a dog race). 

More often than not, a life in the trades is the same. 

Not All Wholesome and Feel-Good Stories…

We just don’t work in cushy office jobs that allow several weeks of time off each year. We may have to respond to emergencies during holidays; after all, Christmas time is in the thick of the heating season. Or we’re one of the groups that help restore normalcy to people’s lives after disruptive natural events. (HUGE shoutout to the electricians who got power restored after Hurricane Milton in our neck of the woods this year.) 

We often come home covered in sweat and just want to get some rest, not always able to give our families the attention they want—or that we want to give them. At some companies, it’s a fight to get time off to spend with them at all; on the flip side, if you wear all the hats in your small business, you may have to choose between emergency calls and spending time with family. (Matt Bruner knows what this is like.)

McClane is a sympathetic protagonist here, especially for me. I understand his wife’s frustration and how his job and sense of duty conflict with what’s expected of him as a husband and father. That’s just one of the layers of conflict in the film, but it’s one that I find pretty compelling because I’ve been able to relate to it over the years.

And that’s why the ending of Die Hard hits home for me—not because the climax is paced perfectly and it’s so satisfying to see Hans Gruber get his comeuppance. It’s because McClane is redeemed by his sense of duty; the same skills that contributed to the rift in his family life enable him to save his wife and many others.

Redemption

Now, redemption is a pretty loaded word. Those of you who grew up in the Christian faith and embrace it associate redemption with Jesus, and Christmas is when we celebrate His birth.

But redemption, at its core, is about starting with a lack of hope or belief and being delivered from that situation—by one’s own actions or an external force.

John McClane’s struggle to balance his work and family life isn’t the central conflict of Die Hard, which is an action movie first and foremost. However, it’s a source of tension that I’m sure most of us in the HVAC industry can understand. I think we’re trying to do better as an industry, but we still work longer hours and have poorer work-life balance than average—especially people who work on commercial HVAC/R projects and do night work or refrigeration techs who respond to 3 AM emergency service calls when a rack goes down.

The Struggle (and Grace) of a Provider

Tradespeople are providers in multiple senses of the word. Their skills allow them to put food on their families’ tables while they provide their time, expertise, and labor to others for a living. It’s normal for us to feel like we aren’t the best spouses or parents when we’re in this role—but being a provider isn’t easy. 

At work, we’re service providers who sometimes do thankless work; Inside Edition has covered a mix of scammers hiding behind the skilled trades, and customers tell their kids to “stay in school, or you’ll end up like the A/C guy.” At home, we provide for our families and, unfortunately, often aren’t as present as we’d like to be. We sometimes miss kids’ games and recitals, and it’s not something any of us really wants to do.

But we still do it. We still serve, we still provide, we still take the good and bad that comes with our profession, and we still overcome. Are we freeing hostages and saving our spouses from terrorists? I sure hope not. But in the end, we’re gritty people in a profession made up of many selfless people. The people who truly love us will appreciate the work we do for them and the community, even if the hours and demands of the job aren’t ideal for our loved ones.

We had the Kalos holiday party just over a week ago, and the thing I love most about this yearly tradition is seeing my team members and their families. These people work hard, and their sense of duty—like McClane’s—simultaneously comes from a place of love and cultivates love within their families.

We’re Not John McClane, but…

While we may not be gun-wielding, duct-maneuvering action movie heroes, tradespeople provide a service to society that many people cannot go without. Even though it’s not easy, the holiday-season emergency service calls put food on our families’ tables (and keep our neighbors from freezing). Even when we feel like we haven’t done enough in our personal or professional lives, it’s clear that we make sacrifices and serve others before ourselves.

A life in the trades is not easy, not pretty, and not always appreciated. But the ones who do appreciate the life we're living know just how selfless an honest career in the trades can be—even when it doesn’t seem so on the surface.

May you spend this Christmas surrounded by loved ones who value your skills, interests, and sacrifice to provide for them and others. Yippee-ki-yay, HVAC nerds.