Dreaming Of A Green Christmas

The Wildlife Trust’s Katie Piercy explores ways to have a more environmentally-friendly festive period.

Long before Christmas became today’s whirl, earlier civilisations had their own reasons to celebrate the darkest time of the year. For many cultures the significance of the end of December lay in the solstice – showing them the dark nights were getting shorter and  winter would once again come to an end. Festivities could last for weeks or months, and, in the pagan Saturnalia tradition, included singing naked in the street (possibly the precursor of carol singing) to upturning the usual social rules with a carnival, including allowing servants to rule over masters (perhaps most famously depicted in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night).

In different cultures, different deities were celebrated and rules enacted, from the entertaining to the cruel. But one common theme ran throughout – the importance of nature. Evergreens had a particular significance, showing life could survive the harshest time of year. From the Egyptians, who brought palms into their houses at the solstice to celebrate the returning health of the sun god Ra, to the Celtic druids who decorated their temples with evergreen foliage to celebrate everlasting life, bringing nature inside is a tradition which has resonated for millennia at this time of year.

The Christmas we know today has its own set of traditions and meanings but nature still has a big part to play, and perhaps we can have a big part to play for nature. With business booming each festive season, how can we give a gift to nature?

LIFE AFTER BAUBLES