Cashless Christmas-Green Christmas

The greatness of this festival is the nature of its celebrations which are completely separated from religious aspect. On one side are the clerics, religious heads who preach about loving sharing and giving on Christmas. The other side is the height of consumerism with waste of power, resources and food.

Different regions have their own customs and traditions for Christmas. Since there is no fixed way of celebration and no sin associated with breaking free of traditional festivities one can always celebrate without harming Mother Nature.

This is relevant more this year as our nation is taking baby steps towards cashless economy and in the transition period’s cash crunch one can learn that “Cashless Christmas is the Greenest Christmas”. We can celebrate this year without useless shopping, with reducing, recycling and also keeping the celebrations in the traditional frame work.

For the past couple of hundred years our Christmas celebrations are influenced by European traditions which include fixed decorations, dishes and gifts other than visit to the place of worship.  Each of these can be made cashless and completely eco-friendly.

Decorations:-

Homes, schools shopping malls all are decorated grandly generating huge waste later. To reduce wastage decorations which can be used for several years are the way. This decreases cost of celebration too. There is a tradition of heirloom decorations in the West which are passed from generation to generation. So this year instead of buying more we can use mothers and grandmothers decoration items.

Decorations can be made out of playdoo, glitter and waste too. Schools should practise decorations out of waste and each class should hand it over to next class. There are thousands of video on the web where they show how to make Christmas decorations at home with whatever is available at home. Few links are given to help. (1) (2), (3), (4)

Second part of decorations is the Christmas tree. Plastic trees are everywhere but are environmental hazard. Keeping them indoors is very bad for humans as they release many  vapours. Greenmoksha had suggested earlier that christmas tree should be living and not a dead chopped off tree. One can use any evergreen potted plant as Christmas tree. Traditionally Indians used cypus plant(mayurpankhi) as Christmas tree. It has many benefits too as mentioned. But in the absence of potted Cyprus one can use any other evergreen like fern(first photo). Tree decorations too can be made at home and instead of tree lights one can place smooth reflecting metal pieces strategically in the tree to make it a reflection lighted tree(3rd Photo). (1), (2), (3)

Food:-

Next on the list is food. Though we all love Christmas cake it has as many varieties as the number of nations in the world if not more. Popularised by European colonial rule this has nothing to do with biblical era as the food they had was broken wheat bread, goat cheese dates and figs. With different varieties of cakes one can find all the stuff at home to make it.

Cakes are made with different flours, nuts, spices , fresh fruits, with or without eggs and butter or oil.  Making with ingredients at home will be cashless as well as healthy and hygienic. Infact almost all the types of flours we use at home can be used for making cake. Sugar, jaggery honey, dates, banana all can be used as sweeteners.

http://greatist.com/health/healthier-cake-recipes

WHOLE GRAIN CAKE-RAGI WHOLE WHEAT EGGLESS COOKER CAKE

Most of the homes now have either OTG or microwave but  even in the absence of  conventional baking gadgets pressure cooker, Gas tandoor and makeshift oven with stones work too.  Some are so easy even working professions will have no difficulty. (1), (2)

I find this healthy baker’s ideas very good to go for a cashless and healthy Christmas- ovenderful

Simran Oberoi Multani  makes healthy recipes with different flours, natural sugars and without any additives.

Other sweets made during Christmas depend on the part of India and are usually home made. Christmas dinner too can be made cashless by using “available at home” ideas.

Gifts:-

Finally it’s the time for gifts and nothing better than homemade and handmade gifts. One can make preserves, jams, pickles, dry sweets, chocolates, cakes, cookies, energy bars and gift them in clean recycled glass jars tied with little ribbons. (1)

Homemade beauty treatments like scrubs, soaps, lotions ,creams are loved by all and make a wonderful Christmas gift. (2)

Small potted plants like a baby aloevera which was growing under the big aloe plant at home will make a wonderful gift. (3)

Ideas are endless and bounded only by what is available at home.

Gift wrappings or gift bags can be recycled too from newspaper old gift wrappers and bags.(1),(2)

Dressing up for the festival is not taken up here as I could never relate wearing new clothes for any festival. Maybe this year ladies will bring out the traditional sarees of their moms and grand moms to avoid buying new clothes. Some dresses are evergreen including classic handloom silk sarees of previous generation. Men can always dress up in traditional attire too.

Hope that this year Christmas will be greener.

Have a Blessed Christmas!!

(All the images are from the web along with links to the original sites, click on the reference numbers)