- The writing of "20 Minutes" accompanies you during the holiday season. Big questions, small questions, real hassle? We answer you.
- Today, we land in the kingdom of Sweden, poetry and nature, with the fabulous ecological tale of Christmas by Greta Thunberg.
- Sit by the fireplace and let us tell you this wonderful story (also available in podcast).
Our story begins in a Swedish village, where Christmas is being prepared in an atmosphere full of excitement. While this celebration is one of overconsumption and disposable pleasures, how can you make a Christmas a little more eco-friendly? This is where the heroine of this story comes in, we present it to you even if you already know it well. Our Swedish girl with legendary braids travels the world to alert leaders to the state of Earth's health. By boat, by train, nothing stops him, despite the remarks of obsolete boomers. Greta Thunberg - yes you recognized her - will be the protagonist of this slightly twisted tale. Sorry Mickey, Scrooge or Santa, but this time the spotlight will be on her.
Like all teenagers, Greta wanted to celebrate Christmas, there's no reason. But how do you achieve this feat by being ecologically in the right tone? Thorny mission if ever there was one, even if nothing could resist the personality of the year. Especially since she is not alone in wanting to reconcile ecology and festivities, and to prove that we can have fun while ensuring that the planet is not screwed up.
Fewer gifts, but more beautiful
First and foremost, it is on the mentality that we must work. "Christmas is a holiday where we overconsume without reason, it is good to put more moderation", supports Maël Coutand of Maison Zéro Déchet. He says it: a more reasonable Christmas can also be a source of joy. Obviously, Greta Thunberg will only invite her relatives in the kilometric sense: taking the plane or using too much gas for a simple gourmet meal is out of the question. The train but especially the short distances will be preferred, because the pollution at Christmas it also plays during the journey.
Let's also take the case of gifts. Why make them all instead of focusing on one person to make them look very beautiful? "If the whole family decides that each one offers only one person rather than several, the gift is more personalized and has more value," said the director of Maison Zero Waste. This is how our heroine will proceed. Beyond the number of gifts purchased, it must also be chosen with seriousness. Greta who wants to do well will take a gift that lasts over time, not a useless bauble that will be sold on Amazon even before the New Year.
There is no point in overfilling the plates, if for dessert everyone is on a diet
So much for the “pleasure to offer” part. Do not see any sexism causing your anger, but Greta Thunberg is also responsible for preparing the house, so let's move on to the organization. Was there the thorny choice of the mythical tree, from the forests or made of plastic? "The natural tree will always prevail," says Maël Coutand without the shadow of a doubt running through it. It offers a third way, even healthier for our woods: make your own tree the way you want. No doubt that is what Greta got down to.
For the meal, same fight. You have to think reasonable, instead of wanting to overfill the pans and the table. “No need to overconsume, it's useless and nobody really benefits. Make normal rations and fewer different dishes, ”advises Elodie Martinity Cousty from France Nature Environment, pointing to the leftovers that we throw away stupidly. No need to make five starters, three dishes and four desserts that nobody can finish, so much more modest so as not to spoil the meal and the pleasure.
Exit the salmon, long live the seasonal products
Greta Thunberg will have to choose her food carefully, even if it means going beyond traditions. For example, exit the sacrosanct salmon, but not enough to plunge into desolation. "It is the third most consumed aquatic protein throughout the year, it is no longer an exceptional Christmas product and its wake," says the counselor Ocean and Coastal Networks, which is more oriented towards fish. seasons and coming from our waters: “I assure you, a mackerel is as good as salmon, and it allows you to discover other flavors of fish. Still with our friends under the glassy-looking sea, she adds to avoid eating their eggs: "The oceans are already emptying their fish in large quantities, let us at least let them live a little before eating them".
For the rest of the meal, these are more basic lessons. "Poultry and winter vegetables, bought at nearby markets," she says. But there is no doubt that Greta had already planned to consume locally, in order to preserve the world and its global resources.
The Christmas heroine, the most beautiful planet
This is how Greta will organize her Christmas so that it is eco-relevant, and prevent the gossip from being talked about again. But beyond a few simple gestures to adopt, will Christmas be able to help set foot in the stirrup? What if instead of being the celebration of overconsumption, Christmas became the celebration of implementation? “We can hope that the reflections that we are now making at Christmas to avoid polluting too much, follow us the rest of the year. Consume less, consume better, it's virtuous all year round, ”says Maël Coutand. His storytelling duo does not say otherwise: “Christmas is also a holiday where you think of others, if you want to help your neighbor you must be careful how you act. It is also a celebration between the generations. Children can be taught a world without overconsumption. "
Thus Greta Thunberg, heroine of the year on her boat, also manages to save the Christmas spirit by being green. The moral of this story, if there is one, it is all as much as it is, to wonder: consume less, think about the consequences and the sacrifices, ask yourself what is a need and what is a caprice. Do not deprive yourself but rationalize, and each of your gifts will have more reach. This is the end of this slightly green tale, we let Greta return to her planetary mission. Will she soon be followed in her fight by a tide of goblins from here and there, ready like the young Greta, to save the Earth from the dangers of this world?
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