Manila parish calls for eco-friendly Yuletide

A Catholic parish community in Manila yesterday joined calls for a clean and environment friendly observation of the Christmas season.

Children and youth members of the Care for the Earth Ministry of the Our Lady of Remedies Parish in Malate expressed their appeal in an artistic presentation and dressed up as gift boxes at the door of their church, each representing an important reminder on how to have an eco-friendly celebration of Christmas.

Behind them was a big banner that read “Clean and Green Christmas, Gift to Christ and Mother Earth.”

Each mock box contained running arrow, which is the universal symbol for recycling, and a word that begins with the letter “R” that represents step towards an eco-friendly Christmas.

“We need to make ecological choices now in light of the continuing abuse and deterioration of our environment and a climate crisis that is upon us. Celebrating Christmas in a way that prevents further harm and trauma to the environment is a right step towards the conversion that we all need to make as beneficiaries and stewards of God’s creations,” said Fr. John Leydon, parish priest of Our Lady of Remedies church.

The parish children asked the faithful to “restore Christ, born in simplicity and poverty, as the principal reason for the joyous celebration, rethink how Christmas is observed with the health and safety of all creations in mind, and review Christmas plans and expenses, cut unnecessary purchases and use savings to help families in need.”

They also asked the people to “reduce climate changing emissions by conserving electricity and avoiding holiday garbage at all times, reuse stuff such as Christmas decorations as many times as possible before being replaced or discarded, repair broken things before making any plan of acquiring new ones, and retrain family members on the ecological way of managing discards without mixing, dumping or burning them.”

Finally, the youth members of the parish urged Filipinos to “recover materials for recycling or composting.”

“Let us honor the babe in the manger by not trashing Christmas,” Fr. Leydon appealed.

Environmental group EcoWaste Coalition lauded the move of the parish and urged other Catholic communities to do the same.

“Let us take the cue from Pope Benedict XVI who led an eco-friendly youth rally in Loreto, Italy in September this year where he stressed the need for humanity to make courageous choices to safeguard the planet,” said LJ Pasion, youth campaigner of the EcoWaste Coalition.

Both the Care for the Earth Ministry and the EcoWaste Coalition have expressed concern over the anticipated rise in the quantity of mixed garbage during the joyous holidays.

The EcoWaste Coalition earlier lamented that over-the-top decorations, marketing gimmicks, shopping extravaganzas, and the ubiquitous trash created by the holiday frenzy have increasingly shrouded the true meaning of Christmas.

Metro Manila’s trash generation of about 8,000 cubic meters daily is expected to go up by one-third during the Christmas season due to the consumption spree.

To guide the public, the EcoWaste Coalition released a 25-point “Eco-Advisory on Greening and Simplifying Christmas,” containing practical steps on how to prevent drowning in wastes and toxins during the joyful season, including the use of recycled materials in creating Christmas decors.

The Ecowaste Coalition said the public should also try to avoid the use of Christmas lights to cut energy use and instead create garlands made of recycled materials such as old cards, gift wraps and ribbons.