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Christmas reflection on climate crisis
Christmas, as a moment of renewal, invites alignment between our inner lives and the outer world humanity seeks to protect.
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Motorists and commuters ride past a Christmas tree made from recycled plastic bottles on Nov. 7, 2024, in Manila. (AFP/Ted Aljibe)
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hristmas is a season that calls for reflection, renewal and love—a time to pause and reconnect with what truly matters. Its universal themes transcend religious or cultural boundaries, inviting care for one another and for the world we share.
At its heart lies the profound idea of relationships: between the self and the Supreme Being, between the self and others and between the self and the inner self. These relationships are not just personal; they shape how life is lived, how challenges are addressed and how humanity responds to crises.
Nevertheless, Christmas is often misunderstood or dismissed. Some view it as a commercialized holiday, stripped of meaning by consumerism. Others critique it as a pagan ritual, borrowed and repurposed by later traditions.
From a religious perspective, some question its theological authenticity. From an empirical or scientific standpoint, it seems far removed from tangible global crises like climate change. Even philosophically, it is critiqued as a construct steeped in myth rather than truth.
But when viewed through the lens of "tradition" and "history" as ways of knowledge acquisition, those critiques miss the deeper essence of Christmas.
Christmas is a tradition steeped in history, offering profound insights that bridge generations, connecting the past with the present and guiding humanity toward the future. This perspective transcends empirical or doctrinal debates, allowing Christmas to stand as a legacy of shared human experience and reflection.
With so many challenges in the world, Christmas is an opportunity for a day of reflection, interwoven with its traditions, to help reconnect us with what remains beautiful – beauty in the natural world, in human resilience and in the relationships that define our lives.
