A couple of days ago I read an article called “Bring Back the Lean Green Father Christmas” by Permaculture Magazine. They want to bring back the Father Christmas that came from the deep Germanic woods and was dressed in all green. It seems the main reason they want to do this is because the evil soft drink corporations turned Father Christmas/Santa red and made him fat. Okay, the premise of a leaner greener Santa is a good one in general, but just like all the historical errors I couldn’t help but point out to them, I guess I still feel the need to pick this article apart even more. I support a greener Christmas, not because I’m all worried about the polar ice cap melting and leaving Santa homeless; He has contingency plans for that ;) My reasons are because I really want to see Christmas become more meaningful and less materialistic. I also support Santa becoming leaner. Santa being immortal doesn’t have to really worry about his waistline. However, he is concerned about being a good role model and has been working hard on being more fit and trim.
These things being said, though Christmas seems like it last for about a month, it is really only one day a year and it is truthfully the other 364 days that are more of the problem. In the famous 1823 poem Twas The Night Before Christmas “the Children were nestled all snug in their bed, while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads” and I think this is an awesome. I love the thought of my kids going to bed and having dreams of dancing sugar plums, but I am pretty sure our kids are not having dreams about getting to eat sugar. If anything it would be nightmares about ever having to go a day without it! Because of our hyper consumption lifestyles it seems like Christmas has had to become bigger and bigger to compete with everyday life. If you remember in the poem Santa only filled the stockings not the entire room with presents. I just think if we could create a simpler less materialistic everyday lifestyle for our family then Christmas would become even more special. So even though I agree with Permaculture Magazines lean and green premise, I think buying green presents or green energy investments, so we can feel all warm and fuzzy green inside at Christmas is kind of lame. Buy green energy investments to celebrate tax season or something, not Christmas! I read Permaculture Magazine because I want to create a more sustainable lifestyle for my family and they have some great articles to help in that endeavor. However this article just didn’t resonate with me and by reading the comment section I wasn’t the only one. What color we dress Santa or Father Christmas seems like a personal preference and more about our rich cultural traditions than our ideological leaning. My Santa wears red, but he doesn't work for any corporation and he himself is fighting to restore the magic of a less materialistic Christmas! So dress Santa in green if you desire to, but I will work on doing a better job of dressing the other 364 days in the year in a simpler greener lifestyle. Then hopefully my cookie eatting Santa dressed in red will inspire sugar plums to dance through my childrens head every Christmas eve. Shawn, Head Elf Elf Certified Workshop Here is the link to the article.http://www.permaculture.co.uk/news/0312134041/bring-back-lean-and-green-father-christmas They told me the fixed the mistakes, but they didn’t, they just added to them lol.
2 Comments
holly
12/6/2013 12:28:49 am
I think your point about what your red and white Santa looks like to you is kind of what some people who buy a lot for their kids might think about what they are doing. Materialism is a sliding scale and I think it's up to each individual family to decide what that is for themselves and that's where the Permaculture magazine misses the mark too. Recognizing that your kids are actually suffering from too much stuff and too much sugar...and oh god too much Red40 (that stuff is EVIL) is up to the parent that isn't so wrapped up in appeasing their children to do the hard work of nurturing their children and giving them what they really need...which is attention not stuff for the most part. This post reminds me of one of my favorite books...Simplicity Parenting. I might have already recommended that :-) Great book. I think we should all "Keep Christmas in our own way" unless we are not enjoying our Christmases. Christmas can be a joyful time for many but a stressful time for many as well. Those caught up in trying to give their child everything on their list (and that would be impossible for us since Emily cut out EVERY picture from the Toys R Us catalog) misses the mark. You have to make your own meaning for Christmas, I think, because Christmas has a different meaning for many people. I don't want mine to mean buy buy buy. I personally want mine to be make make make!
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Shawn
12/6/2013 10:45:03 am
We should keep Christmas in our own way is a great way to put it! We can not live without material things in our life. It is all about what our priorities are that determines what those things will be and that is different for everybody. I share my feelings for creating a less materialistic and simpler lifestyle, because I believe many people are feeling the presure of too much of the wrong stuff in their lives. We also want our Christmas and our workshop to be about make, make, make too!
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Head Elf Shawn*Head Elf of the Elf Certified Workshop* Recipient of Santa's Golden Hammer Award*Elf Apprentice Trainer*Founding Member of 'FREE TOYLAND'* ArchivesCategories
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