Green Options

In a rare pre-Christmas interview, Inspired Economist investigative reporter Ramsay Mameesh, asks Santa Claus about his role in causing global warming and the dangers it poses for his business.

Editor’s Note: Jennifer Lance is the Editor over at Eco Child’s Play, another blog in the Green Options Network. Her daughter’s letter was originally posted over there and I thought readers here might find it as cool as I did.

From my daughter’s very first Christmas, we’ve told her the truth about Santa. Regardless of what you think about this personal decision, it has posed some interesting situations. For instance, our county has only one weekly newspaper, and that newspaper has a tradition of printing letters to Santa.

From my daughter’s very first Christmas, we have always told our children the truth about Santa Claus.  This personal decision was based upon my own experiences and reaction to finding out the reality of this icon’s existence, which also symbolized the end of my idyllic childhood.  My neighbor has warned me to be prepared for my daughter to tell me I have ruined her childhood by not making her believe in Santa, as her daughter did when she reached adulthood, and there are times we are confronted with this reality in our culture.

We live in a very small county with one weekly newspaper. It is tradition for the newspaper to print primary children’s letters to Santa.  When this time of year comes around, I know what is going to happen at school with the Santa letters, and I have to prep my daughter not to tell other children what she knows about Jolly Saint Nick.  I’ve debated opting her out of this assignment to write a letter asking for material possessions to be published in the paper, but this year, she surprised me.  Here is the text of her letter:

902 mayors recently signed the Climate Protection Agreement–a pledge to meet the standards set by the Kyoto Protocol. Makes ya wonder, how many didn’t… and why not?

The German intellectual, Georg Lichtenberg, once said that “to do just the opposite is also a form of imitation,” but reversing Saint Nicholas’ image is certainly not the most sincere way to flatter it.

What’s the truth about Santa Claus? Who is this large, jovial fellow with flying reindeer and hordes of merry elves? If the truth about Saint Nicholas can lay the commercial icon to rest, maybe it can also restore the true meaning of Christmas as a time of peace on Earth, love and goodwill toward all.

Santa as a commercial icon undercuts the ideology of benevolence and humble giving. See this video on the chain of consumption for an idea of who gets left out when Santa goes corporate. A truer idea of the real Saint Nicholas and his current image around the world might reconnect us with the greater feelings of compassion and caring that should symbolize this (and every) season.