Christmas: installing your decorations would make you happier, according to a study

As Christmas promises to be special this year, a study found that putting up Christmas decorations would make people happier.

While Olivier Véran announced a few weeks ago that the end of year celebrations would be ” different “And would be done in” small committee », Installing your Christmas decoration is effective against the winter blues. Which is all the more important this year, where the confinement has placed the French in some uncertainty vis-à-vis the end of the year celebrations. It is therefore essential to find a smile and for that, nothing could be simpler: install your Christmas decorations.

According to a study by English psychoanalyst Steve McKeow, putting up your Christmas decoration in November would make you happier. She even specifies that the earlier the decoration is installed, the more it fills you with happiness. ” The decorations evoke childhood memories, magical moments… It is for this reason that taking them out in advance makes you happier! Explains Steve McKeow. People would feel a sense of calm when installing the Christmas tree, garlands, nativity scenes, miniature Christmas villages. This sacred ritual would therefore reduce stress and anxiety.

The Christmas atmosphere takes us back to childhood and creates a feeling of nostalgia: ” While there are many symptomatic reasons someone pulls out Christmas decorations early in the year, it’s often linked to nostalgia: either to relive the magic or to make up for a lack in the past. The decorations are simply an anchor, a path to the magical emotions of childhood. Installing your Christmas decorations early helps prolong the excitement! »Analyzes the founder of the MindFixers organization for the Unilad site. In addition, Amy Morin, psychotherapist and author of the bestseller “ 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do “, Indicated that nostalgia” helps people connect with their past and understand who they are », A benevolent nostalgia which would therefore be essential to happiness.

Another study, published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, found that decorating your home makes you more sympathetic to your neighbors, especially with the installation of garlands, lights and other decorations arranged outside that would make it possible to maintain a bond. more friendly with the neighborhood, creating a strong sense of community.