Majority of Germans Support Ditching Christmas Lights, Because Climate Change

BERLIN, GERMANY - DECEMBER 23: Tarja, age 4, daughter of a fan family of the FC Union foot
Michele Tantussi/Getty Images
Kurt Zindulka

A poll has found that a majority of people in Germany would scale back or scrap their festive Christmas lights altogether to combat climate change.

A majority of Germans said that because of environmental concerns, they would consider taking down their Christmas lights. Some 57 per cent said that they would decrease their use of Christmas lights or even abandon them entirely in the future.

The poll conducted by YouGov found that 11 per cent of those surveyed will not have any Christmas lights at all this year, while another 10 per cent said that they would discard the tradition in the future, reports the state-owned German news outlet DW.

The opinion is divided amongst Germans on whether there should be less lighting on streets and public buildings, with 44 per cent for, 44 per cent against, and 12 per cent don’t knows.

The tradition of Christmas lights is said to have begun in Germany in the 16th century, when Protestant reformer Martin Luther put candles on his family’s Christmas tree to symbolise winter stars in the night over German forests.

The Christmas spirit has been on the decline in Germany in recent years. A poll conducted in 2018 found that 17 million Germans, nearly one in four, do not celebrate Christmas. The poll found that around 20 per cent of those who do not celebrate Christmas came from a “migration background”.

The climate change panic has impacted the Christmas spirit in the UK, as well. A primary school teacher came under fire earlier this month for banning Christmas cards in his classroom. He argued that exchanging cards, a tradition dating back 170 years at the school, was toxic for the environment and contributed to the “ever-growing carbon emissions”.

Follow Kurt on Twitter at @KurtZindulka

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.