People who put up Christmas decorations earlier are happier, according to new research
Who does not like Christmas? It is the perfect celebration where all the family members come together and decorate their house and their Christmas trees. Right from Christmas carols to children hanging their socks for Santa Claus, the whole celebration is expected of bringing joy to the world. A recent study suggests that people who put up Christmas decorations earlier tend to be happier than the ones who delay them.
A report in Science Direct suggests that people ‘used Christmas decorations as a cue that the residents were friendly and cohesive’. So, if you have your Christmas decorations up early, it is quite possible that the neighbors will feel comfortable in socializing with you. The study said: ‘In the absence of Christmas decorations, raters accurately distinguished between the homes of sociable and non-sociable residents’.
"When Christmas decorations were present, raters actually attributed greater sociability to the non-sociable residents, citing a more open appearance as the basis for their judgments," the study further added. One could say that, with the help of Christmas decorations, people get to witness the soft and loving side of people which they may not have seen before.
While Christmas decorations might attribute to a loving and caring neighbor, it might be more than that for the person who took time to decorate their house for the celebration. As it turns out, some people enjoy decorating their houses for nostalgic reasons. "Although there could be a number of symptomatic reasons why someone would want to obsessively put up decorations early, most commonly [it’s] for nostalgic reasons either to relive the magic or to compensate for past neglect," Steve McKeown, Psychoanalyst, founder of MindFixers and owner of The McKeown Clinic, told UNILAD.
He further added, "In a world full of stress and anxiety, people like to associate to things that make them happy and Christmas decorations evoke those strong feelings of the childhood. Decorations are simply an anchor or pathway to those old childhood magical emotions of excitement. So putting up those Christmas decorations early extend the excitement!" So, as it turns out, it is not always about pleasing others.
In terms of Christmas, it is all about enjoying the celebration and opening the doors for happiness to flood the homes and hearts of people. At the same time, it only takes a small link, such as the star you put on top of your Christmas tree or the yearly tradition you follow, to take you back to those happy memories.
