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‘People who display Christmas decorations early are happier, more nostalgic’
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Although sometimes ridiculed for their premature festive ornaments, those who do so are actually deemed to be happier than most, according to one psychology expert. (Shutterstock/File)
I
t seems like we’ve all had that one neighbor who proudly displays his Christmas decorations as soon as the “ber” month comes in.
Although sometimes ridiculed for their premature festive ornaments, those who do so are actually deemed to be happier than most, according to one psychology expert.
As proven in a piece from the Journal of Environmental Psychology, psychoanalyst Steve McKeown explained the psychological reasoning behind the fad.
“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,” the behavioural expert said in a report from UNILAD.
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“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 added.
Furthermore, McKeown also stressed that decorations act as an actor or pathway to old childhood magical emotions relating to excitement.
He also suggested that putting up decorations earlier than usual gives out “cues as a way of communicating their accessibility to neighbors.”
This article appeared on the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
