originally posted on http://jeffersonfoodweb.ning.com on 9 Nov 09
After reading The Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy (CASSE) website and its recommendation to seek fulfillment from something either than shopping, Vinnie and I talked about Christmas. Christmas is the pinnacle of American shopping; it even has its own unofficial holiday – Black Friday. No positive connotation there, but despite that, the day after Thanksgiving is one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Even as a non-TV watcher, I understand that Christmas gets heavy hype: movies, commercials, TV shows that all promote the season of spending (oops, I meant giving).
So what about the season of giving? How is this tied to a Steady State economy website? Well, Vinnie and I started asking ourselves questions: what would Christmas be like if it weren’t about the spending and resultant gift giving? What if gift giving were a very minor part of the holiday ritual? What would we replace shopping and gift giving with? How could we “give” to each other, our family and friends without buying a lot of stuff? And what do we want our holiday traditions to be?
First, we started talking about how we’d like to spend our time: a traditional dinner with family (actually, probably a few of these); less traditional, sillier gatherings with friends (beverages will be served); a really nice dinner out together with a multi-course dinner, a decadent dessert, and a reason to dress up; driving around to look at Christmas light; skiing in the woods. I’m planning a hand-made Christmas card making day with friends, and I think more of that kind of thing needs to be thought up: maybe making cookies and pies with girlfriends.
We talked about gift giving too, because we couldn’t just drop it entirely. We’re thinking of things from second hand stores, like old board games (we just got a 1967 edition of Battleship!), unique finds, and even things we may not end up keeping (like a puzzle). Vinnie suggested that throughout the year we squirrel away things we already have that are packed away, and regift them to each other. An interesting idea: how many things are in the closets and garage that I have completely forgotten about? And since we’re not going on a shopping spree, will we still have a tree? I’m thinking yeah. We both like the soft glow of a Christmas tree in the house, and Vinnie has strong childhood memories of the tree with the model train underneath – that’s something we can build on. (Plus we scored a plastic tree at a second hand store last year!)
What does all of this mean beyond the scope of our personal lives? Well, Juliet Schor, co-chairwoman of the board of the Center for a New American Dream, told the New York Times that Americans can’t be expected to save the global economy by shopping. Much of our purchases are rung up on credit cards, and we’re starting to learn that the magic plastic isn’t so good for us after all, she says. “Many [consumers] are articulating that they’ve changed for good, rejecting the happy-go-lucky spending of the boom for a more cautious, grounded and sustainable consumer attitude,” Schor told the Times in an op-ed piece. She goes on to say that the big reason that we can’t continue to rely on consumption-based economic growth is that the planet can’t support our ravenous shopping habits. Then she talks about climate change, dirty energy, and a frightening timeline. I’m not going to go there, because, after all, I’m talking about Christmas.
For us, this idealist discussion is based on the absolute truth that we don’t have a lot of money to spend, and the money we do have we want to hold on to for other, more important things. So we’re looking at a Christmas with way more friends and family time, far less shopping, and an experience of valuing and enjoying our time together. That sounds so much more pleasant than wading through crowds on Black Friday.
Once again, our Sustainable Communities class took a wonderful field trip, this time to the Nelson and Shasta Big Springs ranches that were recently purchased by 
Yesterday 
The transparency of the operation at Prather Ranch is really comforting: anyone can take a tour on the regular Tuesday harvest. School groups, church groups, authors, reporters, and community organizations have all take tours at the facility. There is a real sense of commitment to the animals at Prather and the development of a program that puts the animals first.