The smells of evergreen, vanilla, and ginger saturate my nostrils and simultaneously mollify the residual stress of my penultimate final examinations at Bowdoin College. The Christmas tree sparkles in the corner of my living room, painting a smile on my sleep-deprived face. My eyes latch onto a trio of polar bear ornaments with the year “2016” inscribed on them in Sharpie, warming my tired psyche.
Looking at those ornaments, I am reminded of the traditions and practices that ground my connection to the holiday season. Unique to my household is a Christmas ornament tradition. Every year my mom purchases a trio of matching ornaments for my sisters and I to open on Christmas Eve. She etches the year onto the ornament to attach temporal reference to the object and add personal fair. Through this practice, my mom has intentionally began a mini ornament collection for my sisters and mine’s respective future families. For each of my twenty-one Christmas celebrations, I have twenty-one ornaments, each reminding me of different periods in my life.
But, as I begin to transition into a new phase of post-college life, so much uncertainty lies ahead for not only my personal future, but also for the well-being of our shared planet. When I think about putting my Christmas ornament collection to use someday, I worry that the holiday in its current form will no longer exist. Will Earth even have the capacity to handle the holiday season? What special traditions will my future family have the privilege of knowing? What do the years ahead look like for my family look like?
Christmas, as a cultural phenomenon, contributes considerably to the climate change problem. Most Americans celebrate Christmas in some fashion — whether secularly or religiously. Due to the vast amount of gift-giving inherent to the holiday season, studies estimate that trash accumulated between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day annually increases by 25 percent (https://www.neefusa.org/holiday-waste). Coupled with this waste increase is the emergence of high concentrations of “landfill gas,” which is composed of methane, carbon dioxide, and water vapor (https://www.neefusa.org/holiday-waste). Moreover, during the holiday season individuals often request overnight shipping, demanding goods fast from producers, which in turn increases emissions. While there are many other direct environmental impacts that stem from the holiday season, these are just a few poignant examples.
Climate change has been a direct consequence of the intense global economy that cloaks our cultural consumption practices both throughout the post-industrial era and especially during the holiday season. But, paradoxically, the direct consumption rituals that make Christmas special to me, contribute to global warming, natural resource depletion, and other climate-harming practices. How can we reconcile these significant and personal holiday traditions, while also protecting our planet and our future children’s futures?
Cultural phenomena and environmental degradation are inherently entangled. So can holiday celebrators adjust overarching cultural practices to accommodate the rapidly deteriorating planet? Can we still extract holiday joy without heightened consumption practices? A simple answer to this question does not exist. Individual consumption, although impactful, does not solely contribute to climate change. The institutions and norms embedded within society also enable and even facilitate both the expansion and sustainment of climate change.
How can we reconcile these inherent tensions between norms (i.e. consumerism during the holidays) and intergenerational equity? If we as Americans fail to adjust holiday celebrations to accommodate increasing amounts of environmental degradation, we will no longer have any holiday tradition to pass down. Tension between family tradition and climate change during the holiday season should be on the forefront of our minds. Are there ways to adjust tradition without sacrificing the purpose and joy of Christmas to save our Earth.
Hannah Donovan is a senior at Bowdoin College.
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