While Christmas is full 7 weeks away from gracing us with glorious dinner, exchanging gifts and family reunions, some people already are pulling their Christmas trees and red-green garlands out of the basements, attics and storage rooms. After all, Halloween’s over, so why not start getting hyped for the next big festivity?
Well, while there are plenty of those who complain about Christmas themed-everything being too early and that (for the US residents) there’s still Thanksgiving in the way, experts and some studies suggest that covering your porch in Christmas decorations and lighting near-thousand lights on all the windows might be beneficial to you.
One study showed the positive effects decorating for Christmas might have
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One study conducted by M.Werner, Sonja Peterson-Lewis, and Barbara B.Brown investigated what links Christmas decorations might have with the social aspect of our lives. The researchers wanted to see if residents of the decorated houses were perceived more positively or negatively by strangers after previous research showed that U.S. residents might use holiday decorations to convey friendliness and cohesiveness with their neighbors.
Decorating for Christmas impact our sociability and can be interpreted as a sign of friendliness
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Turns out, if you have Christmas decorations on your house, other people perceive you as frienfly, whereas creating a more positive atmosphere. The study found that the non-sociable residents were attributed greater sociability if they had holiday decorations present, compared to those who had no decorations at all. The trio published their findings in one of the 1989 editions of Journal of Environmental Psychology.
Psychologist also says that decorating for Christmas invokes pleasant childhood memories for most people
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And while some say that the data might be outdated, there are those who not only back up the claim, but also add more substance to it. Amy Morin, a Florida-based psychotherapist, says that the general feeling surrounding Christmas is usually positive due to possible associations decorations might invoke. “For most people, decorating for Christmas reminds us of the best times in our lives,” the psychotherapist told abcnews, “Thinking of those happy memories stirs up happy feelings.”
Also, Christmas is related to altruism, and the act of giving makes most of the people feel better
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“When you’re putting up decorations, you’re thinking of happier times, times with family and friends and family traditions you engaged in,” she added. “For some people it’s bittersweet — if family members are no longer here — but it’s still a way to connect.”
That’s why plopping up the festive decorations early might benefit you not only socially, but emotionally
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Morin also brings up acts of kindness as another source of positivity in relation to Christmas and decorating. “Altruism increases in the month of December and as people start to give more and donate more, it makes them happy,” she explained. “It makes people feel good so they want to start celebrating as early as possible.”
Here’s how people on the internet reacted to such news
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