If you’re anything like me, Christmas is your favorite time of year! I get so excited for the Christmas season that I typically have my Christmas decorations up a month early. My friends and family have always poked fun at me about this, but now studies are showing that putting Christmas decorations up early is actually a good thing!
New studies have shown that people who put their Christmas decorations up early are happier, healthier, and friendlier.
The Journal of Environmental Psychology just published a study that found that Christmas decorations can have an impact on your mental and social well-being. Steve McKeown, a psychoanalyst at The McKeown Clinic, explained that people associate Christmas decorations with their childhoods.
“Although there could be a number of symptomatic reasons why someone would want to obsessively put up decorations early, most commonly for nostalgic reasons either to relive the magic or to compensate for past neglect,” he said.
He went on to say that people associate this with happy thoughts.
“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,” he said. “Decorations are simply an anchor or pathway to those old childhood magical emotions of excitement.”
The study found that people who put up their holiday decorations early are more “friendly” and approachable to your neighbors.
“The results support the idea that residents can use their home’s exterior to communicate attachment and possibly to integrate themselves into a neighborhood’s social activities,” the study said.
On top of that, your Christmas decorations can stir up nostalgia for neighbors and make them happier as well.
“It may be a bittersweet feeling. Perhaps the holidays serve as a reminder of when a loved one was still alive. Or maybe looking at a Christmas tree reminds someone of what life was like when they still believed in Santa,” said Amy Morin, psychotherapist and best-selling author of 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do.
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