Have you already hung your Christmas decorations? This is what psychologists say about you

December 25 – one of the most anticipated days of the year – isn’t for another six weeks or so.

But you could be forgiven for thinking the holidays have already started.

In fact, it’s starting to look like Christmas has shifted slightly in the Gregorian calendar, as more and more people are putting up their decorations early.

While many reach for the tinsel in the days after Halloween, others decorate the halls in October and some get festive even earlier.

And because shops and companies want to sell their Christmas goods for as many weeks as possible, it is becoming increasingly easier to be cheerful in autumn.

In Britain, retailers Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer and Home Bargains are all guilty of stocking shelves with Christmas stock in September.

However, according to academics, there is a certain type of person who is easily drawn into the Christmas spirit prematurely.

If you already have your decorations ready, here’s what psychologists say about you.

If you put up your Christmas decorations in November, October or even earlier, this is what psychologists say about you (file photo)

As stores and businesses want to sell their Christmas items for as many weeks as possible, it’s becoming easier to feel festive in the fall. Pictured: Christmas tree in Bond Street, London, November 14, 2024

Amy Morin, a Florida psychotherapist and author of the book “13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do,” says decorating for Christmas “brings back nostalgia.”

Therefore, especially sentimental types may be in a hurry to decorate to recreate good times from the past at Christmas.

“For many people, Christmas was a magical time in their childhood, full of happy memories,” Morin told MailOnline.

‘So it makes sense that people often want to decorate early, because the sooner they get those decorations out, the sooner they can experience some of that magic again.

“The sooner they decorate, the longer the season lasts and the more time they have to think about great memories and positive things about the world.”

The holidays provide “a much-needed escape from the stresses of everyday life,” not to mention the short days and increasingly cold weather, Morin adds.

“We feel better when we anticipate something good, and putting up decorations early can remind people that the holidays are coming.”

Professor Erlanger A. Turner, a clinical psychologist at Pepperdine University, said early flirtation can be explained by the “anticipation of joy” theory.

Pictured: A 23-foot Christmas tree that is part of the Alice’s Christmas Wonderland installation at Castle Howard, near York, November 13, 2024

‘By decorating early, people can prolong the feeling of excitement and happiness that comes with the holidays,’ he told MailOnline.

‘As people begin to mentally prepare for enjoyable experiences, such as Christmas decorations and celebrations, anticipating joy helps improve their mood and well-being.

“In our current global climate, with increasing exposure to violence, oppression and insecurity, many may see early hanging of awards as the only thing they have control over.”

According to one Study from 1989the presence of Christmas decorations inside and outside the house can make the residents look more social.

So those who put a lot of effort into decorations or set them up early may – consciously or unconsciously – be trying to build friendships.

British psychoanalyst Steve McKeown also thinks that early decorators are nostalgic and eager to “relive the magic,” but that they may also try to “compensate for past neglect.”

In other words, it’s possible that their parents didn’t celebrate much of Christmas during their childhood, which means they want to make the most of it now.

In addition to decorating earlier, there is a growing trend of people considering Christmas to be ‘over’ once December 25th rolls around.

Christmas decorating is an integral part of the holidays, but there has long been debate about when it is too early to decorate the halls

The 12 days of Christmas mark the time between the birth of Christ and the arrival of the three wise men (depicted here in ‘The Magical Visiting Child Jesus’ by the Dutch painter Dieric Bouts (15th century)

But Christmas Day is only the first of the twelve days of Christmas, the period in Christian theology that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.

The twelve days of Christmas last from December 25 to January 5 and mark the time between the birth of Christ and the arrival of the three wise men.

That’s why January 5 is considered the last day to take down your decorations, although many believe that Christmas is done and dusted long before then.

Although the increased focus on gifts has brought December 25 to the forefront of the Christian festival, many still consider the following days to be a sacred period as well.

Food writer Nigel Slater once said: ‘I hear people describe the days after Christmas Day as ‘flat’. I am of a different spirit.

“These are peaceful days, gentle days that are as much a part of Christmas as the days leading up to Christmas Eve.”

Professor Helen Parish, a historian at the University of Reading, has said that ‘it wouldn’t be Christmas’ without some disagreement about exactly when we should celebrate it.

The common Christian traditional calendar date for the birth of Christ – December 25 – was a date officially confirmed by Pope Julius I in the year 350.

“There is no indication in the Bible as to the date when Christ was born, and there was no consensus in early Christianity,” Professor Parish wrote. The conversation.

‘By the second century it had become customary in the Eastern churches to celebrate the baptism of Christ on January 6.’

The secret history behind YOUR Christmas tree

The modern Christmas tree has its origins in Germany, where families have put up a paradise tree in their homes on December 24, the religious holiday of Adam and Eve, since the 16th century.

They hung wafers on it, symbolizing the Eucharistic host, the Christian sign of salvation, but it was only a few hundred years later that it became a global phenomenon.

On Christmas Day 1800, Queen Victoria’s grandmother, Queen Charlotte, consort of George III, invited children of local noble families to a party at Windsor Castle.

In the center of the room stood “an enormous barrel containing a yew tree, from the branches of which hung bunches of sweets, almonds, and raisins, in papers, fruits, and toys, very tastefully arranged, and the whole lighted by small wax candles.”

But the Christmas tree really became popular in England in 1841 when Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, brought one over from Germany and placed it in Windsor Castle.

In 1848, a drawing of the ‘Queen’s Christmas tree at Windsor Castle’, with the Royal Family gathered around their tree, was published in the Illustrated London News.

Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their children gather around a Christmas tree, December 1848

The scene proved hugely popular, leading to newspapers documenting the royal boom every year, and the trend caught on with the general public in England.

By the 1870s, Christmas trees had become popular in the United States, which could lay claim to the addition of electric Christmas lights (candles were used for that purpose, but they posed more of a fire hazard).

Pennsylvania-born inventor Edward Hibberd Johnson – a friend of Thomas Edison – put together the very first line of electric Christmas tree lights in 1882, three years after Edison created a long-lasting light bulb.

Johnson set up 80 red, white and blue lights outside his salon at 136 East 36th Street in New York City.

The tradition caught on and the presentation grew to 120 lamps in copper fittings over the next two years.

It spread nationwide after President Grover Cleveland installed electric lights on the White House tree in 1894.