Many people think over consumption or over eating only happens in festivals between Christmas and New Year, but in fact, we over consume and over eat throughout the year from it begins to Christmas. Festivals are just convenient excuses.
Christmas and New Year have always been times to reflect on what we have done in the passing year and make new plans. However, it's twisted under an economic market, people are all too accustomed to the "play now, pay later" way of living. They keep buying, but also keep dumping. The core value of Green Festival is to advocate responsible consumption, encourage all sectors to be friendly to the environment.
As we play now, we put our future in deposit. What are the consequences? Worsening pollution and depleting environmental resources is the price we pay. When you look around, one natural disaster follows another all over the world. The most eye-drawing one is the 3.11 Fukushima nuclear disaster caused by an earthquake and tsunami. The destroying menace of a nuclear power plant shocked the unprepared world.
Once a heaven-like place, Fukushima may be on the way to become another abandoned place. A nature-loving photographer Frances Tong has visited Fukushima six times since 2004 to capture the beautiful natural landscape. "The leaves in Autumn smells better than perfume," she said. We are delighted to have such meaningful photos taken before the disaster to convert into e-Cards to lighten up our Green Festival programme.
Perhaps no more beholders to record its natural beauty anymore in Fukushima, disaster also made people apart from each other. A blessed land in Hong Kong, if such scenario is not big enough to shock us out of complacence to cherish what we already have - our beloved ones, and our living place, what would?
We wish you all HaPPY - Have a Pleasant and Peaceful Year. May a simple life bring you happiness and spiritually wealthy!
很多人說，在聖誕及新年這兩大節日期間，很容易會過度消費或過量進食。事實上，有更多的人，是從新年一直到聖誕，一年到晚皆不停地豪食與花費。節日，只是讓自己更盡情揮霍的藉口。
聖誕及新年，是關懷與分享、檢討過去、展望將來的好時機，可惜在經濟掛帥的社會，大家在「先享受，後付款」的環境下被寵壞，消費及浪費蓋過本有的價值觀。「綠色節日」提倡理性消費的核心思想，鼓勵送禮或問候要講「心意」，減少不必要的浪費。
若大家繼續不斷地追求更大的享樂與回報，只會透支未來，資源被極速消耗，代價是污染加劇，環境也因而犧牲。回顧2011年，世界各地天災肆虐，當中以「3.11」日本福島大地震和海嘯最為世界關注，它所引發的核泄漏，讓大家親身感受到核幅射危機對人類性命和健康的直接威脅、對自然環境的深遠破壞。
曾經是風光如畫的日本福島，有機會見證的人不多，或許不少地方已經絕跡。一位響往大自然的香港業餘攝影師Frances Tong，她從2004年開始，共走訪福島六次，拍下了不少災前的山水美景，她說：「秋天時，樹葉散發的香氣，連香水也比不上」。她與我們分享照片，讓本會製作這批別具意義的電子卡。
綠色節日以「快樂」為主軸，快字中的「人」，和樂字中的「木」，正好提醒大家，快樂是要以「人」為本；善用電子卡，保留一樹一「木」。
香港，常被稱為福地，大家身處這個「福島」，能與家人及身邊朋友一起感受生活，健康活著，已經很幸福，請好好珍惜。
但願由新年到聖誕，大家心靈富足，過簡約而健康的生活，分分秒秒都是「快樂」時。