Majority of Germans back ditching Christmas lights
December 8, 2019
As part of efforts to combat climate change, a majority of Germans say they're in favor of scaling down or completely abandoning their Christmas lights this year, according to a new survey.
Image: Reuters/F. Bensch
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A majority of Germans say they would consider scaling down their Christmas lights to protect the climate, a survey released on Sunday said. A total of 57% of those surveyed said they would reduce Christmas lighting or even do without it in the future, according to the survey conducted by YouGov on behalf of the German news agency DPA.
Of the respondents, 11% said they would make do without any lights this year due to climate concerns, while 10% said they would do so in the future. But 35% said turning off the lights was not an option for them.
Opinion is split on whether there should be fewer lights on buildings and in the streets in general, with 44% both for and against the idea. Having lights up during the festive season is appreciated by a large majority of 79% in Germany. Almost seven out of 10 people surveyed plan to decorate their homes with electric Christmas lights this year.
Berlin's Christmas Garden is brilliantly illuminated
In Berlin, festive lights light up the night in the Botanical Garden. For the fourth year running, Berlin's Christmas Garden enchants visitors during the Advent season and beckons them on a trip through a magical world.
This year again, the Christmas Garden opens during the Advent season in Berlin with countless lights. Under the theme "The magical journey begins at dusk" it takes visitors through the illuminated Botanical Garden. On their quest for the light of Christmas, they follow the dark paths into the magic garden.
In the Christmas Garden, there are small and large light installations, with entire landscapes or individual Christmas motifs that illuminate the cold winter nights. In this place, poinsettias reflect their light on the surface of a small lake. They seem to float in the air and show visitors the way through the dark park.
Image: DW/L.M. Jordan
Dance of colors
Many installations in the Christmas Garden change, vary in colour, alternate between light and darkness and thus with changing light sources bring the garden to life. Each individual installation is accompanied by music. Particularly impressive is the spectacle here on the meadow, where thousands of lights dance to the beat of the music.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Zinken
Shining islands
Not all paths and places are illuminated. Between the different stages, visitors walk through darkness. Therefore, the individual stages are all the more striking like this pavilion. They provide orientation and tempt visitors to linger. After that, the journey continues through the night to the next island of illumination.
Image: DW/L.M. Jordan
A path to the stars
Moon and stars accompany visitors on their way through the Botanical Garden. Not only the real celestial bodies, but also light installations that transform the treetops into their own version of the night sky. Brightly lit ladders lead up to the tree trunks. Here the stars are literally within reach.
Image: DW/L.M. Jordan
Glowing birds
The magical journey through the Christmas Garden also leads past these glittering animal sculptures. Blue swans and white ravens transform the darkest parts of the park into magical places. They look like mythical creatures and transport visitors into another world.
As the German Christmas song says: "Sweeter the bells never did ring..." when a hundred little bells in changing colors break the silence. At this stage, visitors walk through a downpour of bells, seeing nothing but colorful lights to the left and right. With every movement they bring the magic of Christmas to life and let the bells ring.
Golden trees, shining branches — more than a million light sources put visitors in a festive mood. The oaks and beeches are transformed into weeping willows. Their branches are hung with long chains of lights through which you have to make your way in order to move forward.
A glittering gate leads into a canopy of lights. The golden dots cut through the darkness. Numerous chains of lights encircle the tent. Those who walk through here do not remain mere observers of the installation, but rather feel like part of it.
Image: DW/L.M. Jordan
A visit from the north
True to the motto "The magical journey begins at dusk", Scotland's most famous representative has also made a long journey to visit the Christmas Garden: Nessie, the Loch Ness monster brightly emerges from a dark lake and illuminates the surface of the water. It is magical.
Image: DW/L.M. Jordan
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Environmental concerns
Christmas lights are a common feature during the festival season every year, with the lights wrapped around homes, streets and trees. But scientists have warned that the lighting does have an environmental cost.
Currently, representatives from all over the world are meeting in Madrid for the United Nations COP25 climate conference to discuss measures to decrease carbon emissions as part of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Unless global greenhouse gas emissions fall by 7.6% every year, the world will fail to meet the 1.5°C temperature goal of the Paris Agreement, a report from the UN Environment Program warned in November.
