An environmental advocacy group in Germany said the Christmas lights tradition in cities and private homes should be abandoned this year because of the energy crisis. “This winter, cities as well as homes and apartments must be sure to celebrate Christmas without lights,” Juergen Reich, managing director of Environmental Action Germany (DUH), told local media on Monday.
Christmas lights in private homes in Germany alone consume as much electricity as 400,000 city dwellers spend a year on electricity.
Resh said, given the energy shortages caused by the Russo-Ukraine war, as well as the reasons for climate protection, “we should stop and think for a moment.”
The German government has already adopted several energy-saving measures to avoid blackouts and gas shortages during the coming winter.
Maximum room temperatures in public buildings and workplaces have been lowered, while monuments such as the Brandenburg Gate in the capital Berlin are no longer illuminated.
Inflation in Europe’s largest economy hit a record low of 7.9 percent in August, driven by skyrocketing energy prices, according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).
