EARTH WOMAN.
The lights in your Christmas tree.
Before you light your tree tonight, gather the children around and tell them this story about the Christmas tree lights. 

In faraway Latvia, some time in the 1500’s, Martin Luther, the man who started the Protestant Church, went walking in the forest.  It was Christmas Eve night, and snow covered the land.  The scene that greeted him was beautiful.  The snow on the trees was shimmering with moonlight and starlight.

Martin Luther wanted to share this experience with his children.  He set up a little tree at home and decorated it with small candles, then lit them for the baby Jesus.

Today, Christmas trees around the world twinkle with electric bulbs.  Many people also drape fairy lights outdoors, leaving them on all night. 

As the sun rises, the lights still shine.  Maybe these individuals are not aware of this – the more electricity they burn, the more carbon they release into the atmosphere.  And of course, more carbon equals more pollution.

In fact, pollution is such a problem now, world leaders met recently in Copenhagen to discuss ways to clean up earth.  There, citizens lit the Christmas tree in the City Hall Square in an unusual way – by pedalling bicycles hooked up to the tree’s lights.  In other words, instead of using electricity, they used the energy they produced by pedalling.  The mayor, children and important international persons took part. 

What a great way to lighten up – lose weight and switch on!  In the meantime, while we wait for bicycle or solar power, please use electricity wisely.  Don’t burn it the entire night.  Switch off those fairy lights before you go to bed.  Santa will find you no matter what, especially if you’ve been good.