Eco-friendly crèches in Vietnam, a somber Christmas in Asheville

EarthBeat Weekly
Your weekly newsletter about faith and climate change

December 27, 2024

People visit a Nativity made of hay, thatch, bamboo, pieces of wood, cotton, bonsais, and other used items on Dec. 19 in the compound of Dong Tien Church in Ho Chi Minh City. (Joachim Pham)

This Christmas, the nativity scene inside the home of Huynh Thi Nghiem in central Vietnam depicted the infant Jesus lying on a bed of straw, while nearby cattle help warm him on a cold night. There's a thatch house surrounded by Christmas trees and stars, along with grass, a cactus pot and a bamboo fence.

All of her crèche decorations were created with environmentally friendly materials. It's part of a growing trend among Catholic parishes in Vietnam, Joachim Pham reports for EarthBeat this week, as a way to echo teachings of Pope Francis' 2015 encyclical, "Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home."

"Our goal is to remind people that it's time to build a cleaner, healthier environment by reducing waste," said Ignatius Cao Tuan Duc, 40, a member of volunteer group at Thach Binh Parish that this year made 200 Nativity scenes and 400 lanterns using bamboo, branches, straw and old foam, and distributed them free of charge to local people, regardless of religion.

The group collected most materials from storm debris, fields and local donations, while they purchased plaster statues of Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the cattle, along with colored paper and electric bulbs.

"We cannot worship God while damaging the environment," Duc said.

Here in the U.S., the arrival of the Christmas season was a more solemn affair this year in Asheville, North Carolina, just three months after Hurricane Helene's relentless rainfall and flooding devastated the city.

Darlene O'Dell, a freelance journalist and Asheville resident, recently traveled with her camera along the banks of the Swannanoa River to document the destruction that remains.

"During those first few days following the storm, my neighbors and I gathered outside, not entirely aware of the extent of regional damage but hoping one of us had somehow found answers to basic questions: Where were the power trucks? Is every highway out of town closed?" she wrote in a photo essay for EarthBeat.

"We were all, though, without power, water and cell service. The grocery stores and gas stations were dark, or gutted. Every few minutes, we could hear the piercing sirens from emergency vehicles, but between those alarms an incongruous and uneasy silence hovered in the air.

"Three months have passed, and the Christmas season is here. I am wondering what it means to celebrate in a time of tragedy, at a time when so many have lost so much."

What else is new on EarthBeat:

Catholic relief groups active during 2024's many weather-related disasters

by Gina Christian, OSV News

What's happening in other climate news:

Climate change added 41 days of dangerous heat around world in 2024 —Alexa St. John for the Associated Press

The Drowning South: Why seas are surging —John Muyskens, Simon Ducroquet, Kevin Crowe, Shannon Osaka and Niko Kommenda for the Washington Post

Agricultural poisons tell a tale of two Californias —Liza Gross, Peter Aldhous for Inside Climate News

Three-quarters of the world's land is drying out, 'redefining life on Earth' —Ayurella Horn-Muller for Grist

Coal use to reach new peak – and remain at near-record levels for years —Jillian Ambrose for the Guardian

Final Beat:

As the final days of 2024 approach, we'll revisit next week the top EarthBeat news stories of the year.

Such retrospections are a common practice this time of year across all news outlets. In fact, the Associated Press compiled a gallery of vivid and eye-opening images from its photographers of the ways climate change is impacting our world today. It's a sobering and illuminating reminder that the effects of rising global temperatures are not a distant threat but are already changing and challenging our planet in so many ways.

Thanks for reading EarthBeat.

Brian Roewe
Environment Correspondent
National Catholic Reporter
broewe@ncronline.org
Instagram: @broewe_ncr