In my view the present day world is full of burden, responsibilities and people frowning down at you, waiting for you to act and then making you feel guilty for it. It is like this all year. Then Christmas comes and we forget how harsh the world can be (mostly forget, we aren't allowed to completely escape from it).
I think that Christmas can be sustainable and it is moving towards sustainability. Christmas lights are becoming more energy efficient (LEDs), companies are obliged to manufacture goods more sustainably - less packaging, less waste, lower energy usage.
If Christmas was scrutinised and we were all made to feel bad about indulging and were made to be frugal then I think that Christmas would be completely different. The social aspect of it wouldn't work. People would feel unhappy and I think the general health of the population would decrease because Christmas is a time to relax and unwind from the stresses of every day life. It people were denied this then the incidence of people with diseases such as stress would increase; putting a further burden on society.
It would not work economically either. Many businesses gain their highest amount of profit around the Christmas period, including retail and the travel industry. Maybe business would adapt in the long run, but on a short term basis many businesses would close, leaving people out of work etc. This would create many problems for the economy.
The only pillar of sustainability that may benefit from Christmas becoming more sustainable is the environment. With less demand for resources for consumption (packaging, electricity, food etc) then the environment would flourish. However I'm not sure that this outweighs the negative impacts on society and the economy.
Merry Christmas
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I believe that Christmas is very unsustainable. You mention that you feel that Christmas is 'moving towards sustainability', I disagree.
ReplyDeleteYears ago Christmas was not about the presents, it was about spending time with the family. Nowadays I feel more and more is being spent on presents. Children were once used to only receiving a few presents at Christmas and would be grateful but now parents feel that there is a pressure to spoil their children to keep them happy. Therefore I feel Christmas is becoming more unsustainable.
You also mention that Christmas lights are being made to be more energy efficient which is true and good if people are using them on a minimal scale. Some people go one step too far and decorate the outside of their houses top to bottom with lights and so on. Ok Christmas is a time to be festive, to decorate your homes and so on but is there a need to go to these extremes?
At Christmas, when I drive through certain areas on Leicestershire it is striking how many houses are over decorated, its like everyone is trying to out-do each other and I have noticed this to get significantly worse over the years.
I do agree about your views on the environment and how it could flourish if the demand for 'real' Christmas trees, packaging and so on were to be reduced. The likelihood of this happening anytime soon though is slim!