Dear friends,
Christmas is nearly here, and we all have one thing on our minds that grows into real anxiety: "What can I give to my parents, my children, my grandparents, my in-laws, and my friends this year? It has to be something they don't already have, something that looks impressive, something that costs real money... and on top of that, I can't spend much time shopping because I barely have a free moment, so... I'll end up doing the usual frantic rush through the stores..."
Let's be honest: we already have so much. How many televisions in our homes? How many knickknacks, vases, pots, cell phones, and video games? Our children's rooms are often cluttered with toys, clothes, and things of every kind.
Why not turn gift-giving, just this once, into small acts of solidarity? It's a chance to teach our children that piling up possessions isn't the most important goal—that other things matter far more.
Some friends may already be doing this, and many are engaged in social and charitable work. Still, I think this year we should all do something more, something different.
Small things, of course. We could start by teaching our youngest children that they themselves, with paper, markers, scissors, clay, or salt dough, can make gifts for their parents, grandparents, and friends—without spending a penny. And those of us adults who want to, or feel we should, give small gifts—why not buy them at solidarity shops, or at stands run by social cooperatives, or at exhibitions and sales of workshops for disabled people? There are plenty of these, especially during the holiday season.
Family and friends could also decide together—parents and children, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and closest friends—that this year there's no gift exchange at all, but instead one big joint sponsorship of a child far away... and the family circle grows! You could decide to invite to your Christmas celebration someone who is lonely, someone who is ill, someone whose home isn't full of useful and useless things—or someone who, despite having a house bursting with stuff, is unhappy anyway.
Small things, certainly. But they'll be far less small and pointless if they mark the beginning of a new way to celebrate. Merry Christmas to all.
For shopping, I'd like to point you to the Solidarity Shops of BDS Consortium "For a Solidarity Economy"—Via Sandro Pertini, 24/C—Martellago (VE)
Solidarity shops:
- Rialto, San Marco 5164—Venice
- Via San Martino e Solferino, 33—Padua
- Via Ripetta 262 (Piazza del Popolo)—Rome
- Piazza San Zeno 3—Cassano d'Adda (MI)
- Via Cavour 51—Monterotondo (Rome)
- Via Don Santo Fumagallo 11—Pozzo d'Adda (MI)
- Prato della Valle 110—Padua
- Vico Fico al Purgatorio—Naples • Piazza Bonomo 10—Formia (LT)
There is also an organization of shops called CTM—Centro Terzo Mondo, which sell products from "Fair Trade and Solidarity Commerce."
To find a CTM shop in your city, call 0471/97.53.339
— Huberta Pott, 2001