Tamara Harbar
Going Green

Whenever people talk about Christmas, the one thing everyone seems to mention is the stress.

A friend recently apologized for being in a humbug of mood because she felt she’d gotten behind in her Christmas baking and Christmas shopping. For many of us, the build up of anticipation that starts around Halloween is really just a build up of tension.

Christmas doesn’t have to be stressful – really, it doesn’t. It doesn’t have to be expensive or produce a lot of waste or use up lots of resources. But changing our Christmas ways isn’t always easy. It can be scary to suggest doing things differently.  

I cope with the scariness of tampering with tradition – even if it’s just my own personal tradition – by making changes gradually, step-by-step. I change one thing, one year at a time. After getting comfortable with that change, I make another one.

I’m still trying to get the hang of my newest tradition, which involves not sending Christmas cards, or at least not as many. That sounds horrible, doesn’t it? I think I just heard good old Bing choke in the middle of crooning about dreaming of a white Christmas with every Christmas card he writes.  

But last year I started buying recycled paper products because birds, like so many non-human species, are faced with habitat loss. They need the trees. So do we, for that matter. Finding Christmas cards made from recycled paper was impossible. And e-cards, even the animated ones with tinkly music, just aren’t the same.  

How could I connect with friends and other special people without sending cards and e-mails, I wondered. The idea of phoning popped into my head. Because I felt a little nervous doing something different, I called my closest friends who know and actually seem to love my wacky ways. When they picked up, I explained the call was replacing the usual card and why. I also said it would be more meaningful and personal to hear the sound of their voice and to enjoy a little visit.  

Everybody loved the idea. Every call was fun and energizing. If someone wasn’t home, my husband and I sang “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” into the answering machine. Since we rarely started out on the same note or at the same time, we got a good idea of what it means to “make a joyful noise.” So did the folks at the other end. In spite of that, we got phone calls back, although it was usually hard to hear who was on the other end of the line because they were laughing so hard.

There was a glitch. I couldn’t get through to one especially dear friend and I didn’t want to leave a message. That meant she didn’t get a card or a call. This year I’ll have to call her twice to make up for it.

Yes, that means I’m going to practice my new tradition again. Not only was it good for the environment, it was good for my soul. Connecting with others is what Christmas is all about.

If there’s a holiday tradition you want to change, go for it. If there are glitches or hiccups, laugh about it and try again next year. It’s all part of the joy of the season.