Celebrating Christmas
A Parish Magazine article. Do adapt and use for your local magazine.
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
So what does Christmas mean to you? For us Christians it’s light shining in a darkness that does not overcome it, it’s the Word becoming flesh and “moving into the neighbourhood…full of grace and truth.” Our dark times are crying out for light, for grace, for truth! How can we celebrate Christmas in ways that are aligned with these values?
Analysis by the Guardian found the average Briton’s consumption on Christmas Day causes 23 times more greenhouse gas emissions than a regular day.
If you were taking part in a pre-Christmas pub quiz how would you respond to the question: So, what’s the most damaging part of the average family’s Christmas celebrations?
Is it the wrapping paper with all the glitter that you can’t put in the recycling bin? Christmas parties? A “real” Christmas tree that will be junked on twelfth night? A new plastic tree every year? The twinkling lights round the windows? The excessive consumption of sweets, drinks and mince pies?
None of the above. It’s the presents we give! It is gifts that were the biggest contributor to the total, accounting for more than 93% of Christmas related emissions. And the worst kinds of gifts were electronics. A new mobile phone is particularly damaging – see How is your Phone like a Grizzly Bear? on Green Christian’s website greenchristian.org.uk .
Celebrating Christmas is not the problem. Getting together with friends and family to chat, drink, sing and dance, in a home, church or pub, is a pretty low-carbon activity.
Melanie Nazareth, Churches Project Officer at Green Christian says: “We have been deliberately sold a vision of Christmas that is based on material consumption. We are constantly bombarded by advertising and media that tells us that if we aren’t spending money on things, we are not doing Christmas properly. This is destroying the whole meaning of Christmas as well as destroying the planet.
“Christmas is a celebration of love and if we love people, if we care about the baby born today, the greatest gift we can give them is a liveable planet.
“Retailers and manufacturers have the power to create change, and they need to think beyond making bigger profits to consider their impact on the planet. They need to be challenged on this, but we should also be considering the individual choices we are making in our gift-giving. We all have a responsibility to take action where we can.”
Richard Hill of ClimatePartner UK, who carried out the research, said: “The good news is there are now so many ways we can be more carbon-conscious such as buying preloved gifts, or buying a little less food to minimise waste. There is no reason we can’t be kind and generous to the planet as well as our loved ones this holiday season.”
For more ideas for a loving Christmas, search “Reclaim Christmas” on greenchristian.org.uk .
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