Have you already put up your Christmas tree at home? If you are one of those who, depending on how you put away your Halloween costumes, take out all the Christmas decorations, we have something to tell you: you are a very, very, very happy person.
It is increasingly common to be on the beach in the middle of July or August and for someone to talk about Christmas because they have seen the announcement that the Lottery for the next draw is already on sale. It is also quite typical to go to buy sweets to celebrate the most terrifying night of the year and see how Christmas nougats appear in some stores.
And in all this pre-Christmas atmosphere there are two types of people: those who are delighted that Christmas extends in time and begins to celebrate almost with the return to school and those who, on the contrary, listen to a Christmas carol in November and they get on their nerves. For the second, we have a message: those people who take out the Christmas tree well in advance feel happier : “In a world full of stress and anxiety, people like to associate themselves with things that make them happy and Christmas decorations they evoke those strong feelings of childhood,” psychoanalyst Steve McKeown tells Unilad, adding: “The decorations are simply an anchor or pathway to the magical emotions of childhood and Putting up those Christmas decorations ahead of time prolongs the excitement over time.”
Putting up the Christmas tree, a sign of happiness and positivity
- The Journal of Environmental Psychology also found that when people put up Christmas decorations outside they are considered more likely to make friends and have “greater sociability” than neighbors who don’t decorate their homes outside. In addition, through the Christmas decoration, these people are showing affection towards others, regardless of whether they are known or not. So, get out those wreaths and snowmen already and place them on the door, they are a sign that you want to welcome everyone who wants to enter your home!
- And we are talking about happiness, but we should also add that taking out the Christmas decorations or putting up the Christmas tree with a lot of time can make us feel more positive, wanting to conquer the world and come up. Psychotherapist and author of ’13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do’, Amy Morin, told Unilad that this holiday nostalgia “helps connect people to their personal past and understand their identity.” Lastly, this action can also help us reconnect with a lost loved one, as it brings back memories of happier times with that person.
- Whatever the benefits that putting up the Christmas tree brings us, it seems that we are not making a complete mistake if we choose to upload the boxes with the Christmas decorations from the storage room two months before. And it is that it takes very little to be happy more often…
When to put up the Christmas tree?
- We have seen that putting up the Christmas tree some time before can make you very happy, as well as that the Christmas decoration speaks of nostalgia, socializing and, above all, happiness. However, many people ask the same question: when should I put up the Christmas tree? Everything will depend, of course, on each family, each tradition, each country, each city…
- In general terms we can say that the Christian religion establishes the Christmas decoration from December 8, coinciding with the day of the Immaculate Conception. It was Pope Pius IX who, in 1954, declared the Dogma of the Immaculate Virgin Mary in which the Virgin was exempted from all kinds of guilt or sin before the conception of Jesus. Since then this day has been celebrated, and in many countries such as Italy, Argentina, Spain or South America, it is the beginning of Christmas decorations.
- However, as we have told you throughout the article, putting up the Christmas tree is something very personal. You can put it before this date, after, or whenever you want. Remember that people who put up the Christmas tree a long time before are happier, so this year you can cheer up and put it up earlier than expected. Surely you create a unique climate in your home full of good wishes, joy and happiness.
- And when does the Christmas decoration come down? In this case, everyone seems to have it quite clear: once all the festivities are over. In Spain, for example, it is usually removed on January 7, after the feast of the Three Kings.