"Merry Christmas!" we often say to each other at this time, with the expectation that Christmas will be a time full of celebration colour and love.

But how are animal lovers, vegans and animal rights activists supposed to enjoy this time when the holidays break your heart into a thousand pieces every time you're reminded of the relentless and constant animal cruelty going on around the world?

How can you sit and enjoy what should have been a cosy evening, surrounded by your loved ones, when you're surrounded by fruit-filled and baked body parts, and whipped cuddly toys?

Christmas is not kind to animals

These were the kinds of questions that ran through my head when I spent Christmas a year ago with my very non-vegan family. I got to make some vegan dishes for myself and my son - which the rest of the family also ate with great pleasure, by the way! But the duck was not to be missed at the table.

Even though I tried to explain to them that there's not much difference between the duck that had to live its short life in captivity and be slaughtered for human pleasure and the two dogs that are my family's joy and my parents' spoiled children.

None of them understood the terrible irony of celebrating the feast of love by eating what was once a feeling and sensing individual; of celebrating the joy of socializing by causing children to be needlessly torn from their mothers so we can make risalamande.

Christmas should be the perfect time of year to talk about veganism, because Christmas is about spreading love, and veganism is about reducing suffering. Yet, sadly, it is one of the hardest times for many vegans in a non-vegan family. 

Vegan future makes it easier

But change is coming! Every day, more and more of us are choosing to live a life where we cause as little suffering as possible in the world. More who can imagine a better world, a world where all animals are free. A world where we make decisions based on our compassion. A world where we keep the traditions we love so much, but modify them to deliberately reduce unnecessary suffering.

This year I'm celebrating a vegan Christmas with the part of my family that actually understands that you can have a fully vegan Christmas, full of traditions, games, fun, music and not least great food, without taking advantage of others.

The only thing I want for Christmas this year is for humanity's natural empathy and love for other beings to triumph over society's dictated rhetoric that Christmas is not complete without death and exploitation involved.

Merry vegan Christmas!

Blog post written by Maya Muñoz