by Pearl Salkin

 

Beginning on Thanksgiving Day, something sinister hijacks our sanity and even the most virtuous among us start acting like crazed consumers. We get caught up in consumption. We eat, drink, buy, spend, wrap, decorate and waste too much. While we humans can make resolutions on New Year’s Day to lose the extra weight and work some overtime to pay the bills, damage that we do to the earth during the holiday season cannot be undone.

 

So, whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or some other event that coincides with the start of really cold weather in the northern hemisphere, it’s important to think twice before you buy the wrappings and trappings, and the decorations to doll up your home.

 

Some items on the market are dangerous. Bubble lights, those pretty, percolating, liquid-filled eye candies, contain methylene chloride, a somewhat toxic substance. If one of them breaks, consumers are told to open the windows and ventilate the room.

 

Some waste natural resources. When the last drop of potable water is gone in northern Georgia, will holiday merrymakers find solace in knowing that at least they have their Georgia-grown poinsettias to look at? And so many give us a moment of pleasure for a really big price - after your kids rip open a package covered in plastic-coated wrap, that shredded wad of paper can languish in a landfill for years.

 

Oil is high, China is low

Today’s headlines really bring home two important messages for the holidays - the price of oil has hit a new high and the safety of imported products from China has hit a new low. Not only are we spending more, we are using up our finite resources at an unprecedented pace. With too many of us buying countless gallons of gas in order to go from mall to mall in search of the perfect present and the prettiest wrapping paper and decorations, it‘s time to get organized, consolidate shopping trips, create new wrapping paper out of old posters, magazines and newspaper comics, and make some love-from-the-oven gifts in the kitchen.

 

And, we are being bombarded by products that are supposed to enhance our celebration, but are produced under sweatshop conditions and contain materials that can actually hurt or even kill our kids. Does that make you feel like singing Joy to the World?

 

During what should be a glorious and festive season, there’s really no reason to pout. You can still celebrate to the max, but you must invest a little time in picking your holiday paraphernalia.

 

Christmas -- to tree or not to tree

That is the question on the mind of many eco-conscious families and increasing numbers have decided that blue spruce and Fraser fir look better in the forest than in the living room. In place of a real or fake tree that spends a few weeks in the home, they have opted for a large live plant or tree that can thrive indoors throughout the year.

 

With the new LED (light-emitting diode) strings, even those addicted to Christmas lights will get their fill of glow as they wind some wired color around the ficus. And since LEDs use only about 10% of the energy that equivalent incandescents use, they’ll get their holiday glitz and won’t feel so guilty.

Not only do houseplants add a nice touch 24/7, they also improve the quality of the indoor air. More about this can be found at www.cleanairgardening.com/houseplants.html

                   

Dressing the tree

While a tree or plant is attractive as is, most people like to glam it up for the holidays. Instead of lead-painted, plastic trinkets, why not go old school and give your home some Victorian charm? Make some popcorn, string it and drape it across the branches. If you have kids at home, get them involved with baking and decorating gingerbread men and women (real or out of craft clay made from flour) and hanging those homemade treasures on the tree.

 

Simple and natural items like pine cones, evergreen branches, acorns and even eggshells can be fashioned into wreaths and centerpieces. But if you have pets and small children, stay away from holly. It’s toxic to both man and beast.

 

If you’ve already got an artificial tree in your garage, you might as well use it. There’s no sense in sending that hunk of plastic junk to the dump now if it’s still got a few good years. And if you insist on buying a real tree, get one that has an eco-friendly history and make sure it’s life after Christmas is a useful one. Many communities collect the trees, put them through a chopper and turn them into mulch; sink them in a pond or lake, making a nice habitat for baby fish; use them to shore up riverfront areas; or place them on the beach, to help build up the dunes and combat erosion.

 

Hanukkah, Chanukah… your spelling may vary

The letters on the dreidel, the traditional top that kids play with during this eight-day festival, stand for the Hebrew words that state - A great miracle happened there (here, if you buy a dreidel in Israel). While the holiday, also known as the Festival of Lights, celebrates the liberation of an ancient people who were greatly outnumbered by their oppressors, another miracle is recalled - oil in a lamp that was just enough to burn for 1 day lasted 8 days. If only we could replicate that today!

On each night of this holiday, a menorah or hanukkiah (nine-branched candelabra) is lit. Many purists use olive oil. The majority of celebrants use candles. Unfortunately, skinny Hanukkah candles sold in most stores are made of paraffin and come from China.

 

 

Paraffin is a petroleum-based and hazardous substance, and the candle wicks from China are notorious for their lead content. If at all possible, get beeswax or soy candles.
An electric menorah is nice to place in the window. This year, a few LED choices have hit the market and would be a wise investment.

 

Kwanza harvest

Kwanzaa was established in the United States in 1966. This holiday is a harvest festival that has roots in Africa and that also celebrates family, culture and community. It’s symbols are fruit, corn, candles, gifts, a kinara (candle holder with seven tiers), a unity cup and a mat. Gifts usually include books, educational materials, African fashions and items that are black, red and green, the traditional colors of Kwanzaa.

 

 

Since most of these items are basically sustainable, celebrating Kwanzaa without adversely affecting the planet should be no problem. As stated previously, eco-friendly candles are available. Organic fruit and vegetables can be purchased all over the continent.

 

Decorating the home for this holiday incorporates its symbols and colors. Placing handmade items like African baskets, woven table runners made from natural fabrics and bearing red, green and black designs made with vegetable-based dyes, and intricately fashioned art objects around the house are nice touches that won’t put the planet in peril.

 

As with all of the holidays, it’s easy to get carried away and buy too much, and go over the top with decorations and gift wrap. We all want our children to have a great holiday experience and wonderful memories to last a lifetime. But if we don’t start cutting down on frivolous wastes of precious resources, our kids and their kids might someday have only memories to keep them warm as they celebrate in the dark.