At Christmas of all times, the “festival of love”, not only are innumerable fir trees cut down, but millions of factory animals such as ducks and geese are slaughtered. These animals are bred and kept under agony, and the high consumption of meat and fish is extremely polluting. What should we consider if we want to celebrate a festival that is as animal and environmentally friendly as possible? What about Christmas lights, tree decorations, Christmas decorations and wrapping paper? Here you will find many suggestions and tips for a “green Christmas”.
Lots of tortured and fattened animals
Millions of geese, ducks and turkeys that land on the plates at Christmas are in great agony. They are fattened and often force-fed on machines to get fat quickly. (Source: PETA eV / www.peta.de)
For many people, roast goose should be on the Christmas table at Christmas. In Germany alone, around ten million geese end up on the plates between Saint Martin and Christmas. However, it should be remembered that the vast majority of these animals come from factory farming and have been tortured and slaughtered. Most geese come from Poland or Hungary and are fattened there in a very short time so that they become fat quickly and bring as much meat as possible on the scales. It is not uncommon for the birds to be tortured to be stuffed – that is, forcibly fed on machines – and plucked while they are still alive. Many ducks and turkeys that end up on the plates at Christmas fare just as badly.
Breeding animals from the region live at least twice as long in many cases before they are slaughtered. However, only a few of them lead a “species-appropriate” life. So if you don’t want to miss out on the Christmas roast, it is best to have an animal from organic farmingbuy – here at least certain minimum standards for animal welfare are observed and the animals are given neither artificial concentrate nor preventive medication, as in conventional breeding. Since organic farming does not use forage from plants that have been treated with toxic pesticides and artificial fertilizers, it is not only more animal-friendly, but also much more gentle on the environment and better for the climate, as less harmful carbon dioxide is produced. The consumption of fish is also problematic in many cases – numerous bodies of water are overfished and many drugs and toxins are used in fish farms. Therefore, one should also pay attention to the organic seal here.
What we should not forget: The high consumption of meat controls the harmful greenhouse gases produced by humanswith 18 percent the largest share. So a vegetarian or vegan dish is best for animals and the environment – more and more people cook for Christmas without any meat or fish. There are a lot of ways to cook a feast without meat. Not only are there delicious “sausages”, “schnitzel” and much more made from soy, wheat protein or lupine. You can also try something completely new and, for example, prepare a “nut roast”. Quiche variants, vegetable strudel or vegetable lasagne are just as delicious. A mixed salad can be served with it, for example. For the sake of the environment, it is best to buy food here with an organic seal.
Christmas lights – but ecological
According to estimates, Christmas fairy lights in Germany alone use as much electricity as two small towns do in a whole year. (Source: Lumentzaspi / Wikimedia Commons)
For most people, fairy lights and candles are simply part of the Advent season. The Christmas lights are cozy and beautiful to look at, but not exactly environmentally friendly. What you should consider: According to estimates, Christmas fairy lights in Germany alone use as much electricity as two small towns do in a whole year.
If you use the cozy Christmas lights in moderation or instead of other light sources to create a nice atmosphere in the cold season, there is of course nothing wrong with that. For the sake of the environment, one should not overdo it with the fairy lights and pay attention to energy-saving models. In addition, the apartment, the Christmas tree or the garden does not have to be lit for Christmas day and night – it is enough to switch the lights on at certain times. Light chains and other light sources from LED lamps consume particularly little electricity. These also have a longer lifespan than most other light bulbs. Incidentally, it is generally worth considering checking your electricity provider and checking for purely renewable energy to put – there are more and more green electricity producers who also offer relatively cheap tariffs.
Candles do not consume any electrical energy, but in many cases they are not ecological either : Conventional candles from the store usually contain paraffin. Like gasoline or heating oil, this is obtained from crude oil with high energy consumption , which is associated with damage and dangers to the environment. In addition, the world’s oil reserves are limited. When the candle burns down, certain amounts of pollutants are released. We recommend the much more environmentally friendly natural candles made from beeswax as well as GMO-free rapeseed or soy wax, which you can buy in eco-shops, health food stores and sometimes in “normal” shops.
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Tree decorations, wrapping paper and the environment
When disposing of conventional tree decorations such as tinsel or gold balls, poisonous gases are produced and the soil and water are contaminated with lead. (Source: Grace Winter / pixelio.de)
Tinsel, gold balls and glitter ribbons are pretty to look at on trees for many people, but they are not ecological. Such Christmas decorations are difficult to dispose of – they produce toxic gases and the soil and water are contaminated with lead. Snow and glitter sprays are not only harmful to health, but also pollute the environment, because the substances they contain are not biodegradable. The threads used to hang up the tree decorations very often contain copper, which is actually classified as hazardous waste.
Instead, you can decorate the tree (substitute) or the fir branches with environmentally friendly alternatives – there are no limits to your imagination and you can make ecological Christmas tree decorations yourself. Ribbons, nuts, pine cones, fruit, cookies as well as figures and handicrafts made of wood, paper, clay or straw are particularly suitable for decoration (you can also find many environmentally friendly handicraft ideas on our Christmas handicraft pages!). You can also make your own fragrant necklaces from cinnamon sticks, cloves, bay leaves and dried mandarin slices and hang them up – they are also a nice gift. Cotton wool is very suitable as a substitute for snow. But what should also be considered here: Wadding mostly consists of cotton fibers. Conventional cotton production is very polluting and involves the use of genetic engineering and large amounts of poisons such as pesticides. Here too, organic cotton is the better choice.
If you’d like to wrap your presents for Christmas, it doesn’t necessarily have to be extra wrapping paper. Glitter paper and aluminum foil in particular are very harmful to the environment. Colored wrapping paper often contains poisonous azo dyes, lead, cadmium or chromium compounds. Cardboard, old newspapers, recycled or wrapping paper, for example, are much more ecological. You can also design these very beautifully and individually – for example by painting and sticking on the paper or decorating the gift with branches, leaves, flowers or nuts and small treats.
You can also print your own wrapping paper – we show you how to do this in our handicraft instructions . If you really like it colorful, you can use clay, crepe or tissue paper as packaging, this is relatively environmentally friendly compared to other colored paper. In the meantime, environmentally friendly wrapping paper made from waste or packing paper is sometimes also available in stores. If you prefer a classy, shiny packaging, you can also use beautiful towels made of environmentally friendly materials such as silk, which are not thrown away, but are part of the gift.
You should also avoid colorful and glittering Christmas cards made from environmentally harmful materials. Cards with music melodies are particularly problematic because they are equipped with a button cell that contains toxic mercury and does not belong in normal household waste. There are also Christmas cards made from recycled paper to buy. Of course, you can get creative again here and make and stick Christmas cards yourself from environmentally friendly materials such as felt, packing or construction paper or recycled materials – we will show you how to do this in our handicraft instructions .
With this in mind, Helles-Köpfchen wishes everyone a nice and ecological Christmas time – only as far as the weather is concerned, it can of course be a “white Christmas”. Last but not least, it also depends on environmental and climate protection whether we can still experience cold and snowy winter days in the future. We are happy if we were able to give a few suggestions to reconsider one or the other familiar tradition and also to make Christmas customs as environmentally friendly as possible
