Bringing Sustainability into Christmas Festivities

I enjoy celebrating the year's end. This time of year marks the end of the planet's yearly perigrination around the sun and the powerful impact that bob and weave has on our beautiful blue planet and all our lives. So I begin the celebration by marking the winter solstice.

As a gardener, and grower of food, I am strengthening the awareness that ruled our ancestors existance. Their survival depended on being accutely attuned to the shifts in nature that exerted life and death influences on their hunter gatherer and then on their agrarian way of life. It is only since the industrial revolution that we have fallen under the delusion that our navel string to mother earth has been cut and that we no longer need to care for and respect the natural systems that provide all our basic needs. Folly indeed to allow ourselves to be lulled into such a false sense of security. When I trace the origin of my vital supplies, past the middle men, I clearly see that my needs are provided by, so generously and so ingeneously by the beautiful planet I live on.

"... the earth, gentle and indulgent, ever subservient to the wants of man, speads his walks with flowers, and his table with plenty; returns with interest every good committed to her care."
PLINY THE ELDER

Christmas, the holiday of my Catholic upbringing has influenced the way that I express the celebration. The Christmas tree, the nativity scene, the twinkling lights and baubles, the gift giving are all fond images from my upbringing. I recognize and respect the holiday as a celebration of Christ's birth and the impact of his teachings.

The source of my inspiration, realizations and creative expressions, however, come from my practise of tuning in to my "heart" - the interconnected source of all.

I value this time of the year as a time to strengthen my role in the family as hearth keeper. A time to focus loving energy into family and home.

Here are some of the ways I thought of for expressing meaning, richness and sustainablity in my year end celebrations.

I made sorrel, a traditional West Indian Christmas drink made from dried flower sepals, bottled it in recycled wine bottles and gave it as gifts.

As a family we enjoyed a wonderful traditional Caribbean meal of pigeon peas, calaloo, stewed eddoes and ochras and macaroni pie.



I had fun creating momentos of my daughters' summer trip to Mexico using their photos mounted on bits and pieces found at V.V. to create a collage.



My daughter made donation to a African NGO on my behalf and I made a donation on thier behalf.

They both gave me gifts from local artisans and a Hatian artist.

I planted spring bulbs for each of them in containers I found a V. V.



I scored a wonderful plaid, woolen shirt for $10 from a thrift shop and patched the moth holes and worn patches. A warm gift for the daughter who lives on a farm.



We enjoyed community by inviting neighbours to participate in making (and tasting) 150 pastels, a Trinidadian Christmas treat similar to tamales.

I made a wreath for the front door and cedar garlands using clipped greenery foraged around the neighbourhood and trimmings from the Christmas tree farm.



My daughter decorated a number of her gifts with pleated late return fines bills from the library! Very effective.



We fanned the family flame by reading writings by my Dad, where he reminises about living on a coconut estate as a seven year old boy while my daughter knits her Christmas gifts.




I used one packet of white tissue and one of coloured tissue to wrap my gifts over a base of recycled white newsprint collected throughout the year. We made a point of folding all the wrapping paper and putting it into the recycle bag once we had opened our gifts.

Lastly, I discovered that the little pairs of juncos that visit our deck prefer pecking food from the ground rather than flying up to feed off the hanging suet block so I cook them a batch of cornmeal made with olive oil and butter which I roll into balls. I replenish the tray about one ball every other day, which they peck away at.

Recipe for Corn meal balls for birds

2 cups water
1 cup corn meal
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup olive oil

Boil together until corn meal cooks and pulls away from the sides of the pot.
When dry enough turn out on the counter to cool. Knead the dough and roll into balls. Store them in the fringe and put a ball out for the birds as needed.
Good entertainment for cats and humans.



Happy New Year to one and all.