Category: Holidays And Celebrations

5 Ways to Go Green on St. Patrick's Day

3/13/2017

Original post: March 8, 2013

Drink Green
On a normal day, about 5.5 million pints of Guinness are consumed around the world. On St. Patrick’s Day, that number jumps to 13 million. (source) Drink as much Guinness as you like, but please remember to recycle those bottles and cans afterward.

Or support a more eco-friendly beer company such as Colorado’s New Belgium Brewery (Fat Tire beer), the first wind-powered brewery in the nation. Also sustainable, Sierra Nevada Brewery gets much of their energy needs from solar panels and hydrogen fuel cells, powers their trucks on 100% vegetable oil waste, and, in 2011, diverted 99.7% of the brewery’s solid waste from the landfill through recycling, composting and reuse.
Eat Green
And I don’t mean unnaturally green-colored foods like milkshakes and pastries. That artificial food coloring (FD&C Green No.3 and Fast Green FCF) is derived from petroleum and has been associated with hyperactivity in children, allergic reactions and cancer. You can celebrate St. Patty’s Day with real green foods (a fun themed dinner: cabbage, asparagus, kiwi, grapes, avocado and pistachios!), or try a homemade dye. Better yet, eat green by shopping for local or organic foods.
Dress Green
Invest in one special shirt or outfit that you bring out every St. Patrick’s Day. Or scour secondhand stores for green garments (I always see barely used “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” T-shirts at Savers). If you must buy something new, support one of the top buyers of organic cotton from this list that includes Pottery Barn, Nike and Wal-Mart.
Decorate Green
If you’ve bought St. Patty’s Day decorations, save and reuse them every year. Otherwise, decorate with natural items: plants from nature, green bottles and vases, green fabrics. Check out this blog for some creative crafting ideas using items around the house.
Party Green
Although I live in driving distance of two of the nation’s biggest St. Patrick’s Day parades—Boston and New York—I’ve never been to either. Nor do I plan to. I couldn’t stand the crowds (close to 5 million people between the two cities) or the massive amount of trash generated during these events. If you attend your local town’s parade, do your part by not littering. Go one step further and bring a bag along to pick up any trash you find along the route. Neighborhood residents will love you for it.

If you liked this post, you’ll love my book, The Guilt-Free Guide to Greening Your Holidays. It has 95 pages of tips and inspiration for making all your holidays eco-friendly. Click here to learn more!

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Celebrating the Winter Solstice

12/14/2016

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Vancouver’s Winter Solstice Lantern Festival. Photo: Flickr/ItzaFineDay.

The days are getting longer. Really. Although it may not seem like it on this longest night of the year, when, in Rhode Island, the sun sets at 4:15 p.m. and doesn’t rise until after 7:00, daylight incrementally increases after the Winter Solstice. Midwinter festivals are meant to celebrate the return of the sun. So sleep well tonight and enjoy that extra few minutes of sunshine tomorrow.
A chance to reconnect with nature. Winter Solstice celebrates the seasons and the return of the sun. It is the perfect time to enjoy a family hike in the woods or a visit to your local zoo or wildlife reserve. Alternatively, you could create a bird feeder with the kids to welcome furry creatures in your backyard.
Eating, drinking and role reversals. At least that was the rampant kind of fun ancient Romans had when celebrating the Winter Solstice with a festival known as Saturnalia. The weeklong hoopla involved feasting, gambling and the aforementioned role reversals, which meant that masters waited on slaves, children directed parents and employees ruled over bosses. Sounds like a good theme for a party, eh?
Time to plug out and power down. Christmas is such a time of gaiety and merriment, noise and busy-ness. The Winter Solstice is a welcome change from all of that. Take a break from being plugged in. My family has enjoyed many a Solstice by powering down—turning off all electronics and lights, moving with the rhythms of nature. The experience has always been a rejuvenating one. It feels good to spend a day without electronic distraction and be reminded of what stillness feels like.
Take the focus off gifts. Sometimes you just get tired of all the Santa Claus wish lists, the unsolicited toy catalogs in the mail and the non-stop television advertising. With that kind of bombardment, of course kids think Christmas is all about the presents. Celebrating the Solstice in addition to Christmas can be a way to add another layer to the season, whether you choose to focus on community festivals, giving to others or just hanging out in nature.

Now that you’ve got a reason why you should celebrate, you can decide how you want to honor the Winter Solstice. Here are some ideas:

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5 Ways to Go Green on St. Patrick's Day

Celebrating the Winter Solstice

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