On Killing Christmas

Big Ben in Macy's Holiday Display, 2007

This one’s for our friends across the pond.

Obviously, I love me some eco-fanatics. But, for those of you who don’t regularly check my green shopping tab, I am also a sucker for pretty things that make me smile. This includes diamonds, bright lights, and Christmas. Shiny.  So, when BBC News reported that those Brits, in keeping with the Carbon Reduction Commitment, were considering pulling the plug on nighttime window displays, I was a tad taken aback. (This may have been in part due to the editor’s photo choice: a small shop’s Christmas display.)

They have a point, of course. Supermarkets and small chains – which were cited as major offenders – probably don’t need their lights glaring all night long. But what about Christmas displays? I wouldn’t bring it up if it weren’t implied through the picture choice that the British are coming…and leaving with Christmas. What if New York decided that the trippy 5th Avenue snowflakes or the nostalgic display on 34th Street was not worth keeping lit? Better yet, what if our mayor decreed Times Square’s energy inefficiency be put to an end (as he’s threatened before)?

While I agree that saving energy is of the utmost importance, I must say that maintaining morale, especially in these tough economic times, is equally, if not exceedingly, crucial. There are millions of small joys in life but I, for one, only tend to notice a fraction. Holiday decs – a Christmas tree, a menorah or some ghastly ghouls, depending – are one of those luxuries, as are national symbols, like Times Square, and I’m not about to support their destruction. Shame on  you, London.

So it’s January. So I’m early, or late, depending on your perspective. So what?

Share the Soapbox. The Green Gamine