For those of you reading this who don’t know me, I promise I’m not some grumpy, bitter Grinch. And yet… The more I study reducing and reusing, and the more I reflect on my actions and our products and how everything is made and what their afterlife is, the more I dislike just about every mainstream holiday tradition. (sorry)
I know, I know. This immediately paints me as a complete Scrooge of all holidays. Although, I will say that by the end of the stories, The Grinch and Scrooge are the ones who are in the holiday spirit more than anyone else, right?
It’s not that I dislike holidays or celebrations or creating traditions. I think the spirit behind holidays is wonderful. A time to rejoice and be grateful? Heck ya! To be together with friends and family? Yes, please. To have something to look forward to? Sounds awesome. All of these core parts of holidays are so beautiful and so important. (Not to mention the obvious religious aspects of many holidays that mostly go ignored these days, even by those who are religious.) But, the environmental impact of most mainstream holiday traditions makes me cringe.
In no particular order, I take issue with:
plastic Easter eggs, Christmas trees (both plastic ones and previously-living), pumpkins, fireworks, mass-produced Valentines, Thanksgiving as a holiday, wrapping paper, balloons, gingerbread houses, Amazon gifts, goodie bags, Christmas lights, over-gifting, and pretty much all the cheap, plastic decorations that are sold in mass for each and every holiday. (And this is the short list…)
So, how to manage? How to embrace the spirit of holidays and celebrations without cringing and being a complete outcast and party pooper? I’m not quite sure… It’s a delicate topic. People cling pretty fiercely to habits and especially fiercely to anything tied to tradition. Even by writing this post I realize I’m probably ticking off quite a few people (If anyone out there is actually reading…) And I get it. I totally do. But, I guess I am holding out hope. I’m thinking of the final scene of “The Grinch” when the Whos down in Whoville start singing without their gifts or their trees or their excessive decorations. They embrace the deeper meaning of Christmas. And if any year has given us the chance to do this, it’s this one. This year that has collectively ripped away the norms for us of what we think life “should” look like. But, we, as humans, are resilient and strong and creative. If a holiday tradition doesn’t make sense in our world anymore, we are smart. We will find things that do work.
So, on that note, may I wish you a happy holiday season for whatever you celebrate and however you celebrate. May we all find and appreciate the deeper meaning of the celebrations in our lives.