jul in christiania

Day four began as a wonderfully festive winter day in Freetown Christiania, Copenhagen's alternative communal society. This self-proclaimed autonomous township is notorious for anarchist sentiments, squatters, and a market for cannabis. During the COP15, Christiania has been the site of the 'Climate Bottom' meetings, addressing the spiritual and more radical sides to the climate change movement. Intense riots have occurred here as well, notably one last night involving tear gas and a massive police presence. Today however, as fat flakes fell on the tents and reappropriated warehouses, people were calmer and spoke of 'cradle to cradle' design (aka C2C), designing products to follow natural processes, at the daily meeting. Soup and hot tea was offered at the people's kitchen, and babies and older folks alike gathered together in the tent.

We wandered further down the bicycle-lined path and found the Christmas market, or Juleloses, a beautiful indoor market of handmade goods, 'Bevar Christiania' (save Christiania) pins, charming gnome ornaments (one of which my roommates may be getting as a present) and other holiday wares. People sat around drinking gløgg, a mulled wine that reminded me of a wintertime sangria, eating gingersnaps and listening to new agey Christmas tunes played by a bearded man on a keyboard. The number of smiling babies attached in some way to their parents would make Angelina go crazy. Even a little Jewish girl like me felt the Christmas spirit in a way only a Danish communal market would allow.

Later on we met up with Andy, a friend who has been studying in Geneva and Frederik, a Danish student activist I met also in Madrid. After Greek food (Danish food=meat, thus no sampling fromthese vegetarians) we jumped into the huge crowd at the open-frigid-air Hopenhagen-sponsored Gogol Bordello concert for awhile. We went to a café where Frederik volunteers filled with international activists sharing cups of coffee and hot soy chocolate. Patrons of the café shared their frustrations with the slow pace of the negotiations as well as their enthusiasm about the 'Southern' countries (the G-77 et al) really stepping up their game. The leaders and inhabitants of these countries are rising above the tide as the leaders of the climate change movement in a way no celebrity or former Vice President could. Now more than ever I believe that it will be these inspiring nations-who are ignored much too often- that will really ignite this whole climate change thing.