New Year’s mood

Vol 27, Issue 10, 22 November 2024

The New Year and Christmas season are usually associated with a sense of anticipation, inspiration, and joy. However, scientists believe that these emotions may be more complex than simply the expectation of a holiday. They suggest that the New Year and Christmas spirit may be an independent emotion that involves empathy and a sense of connection to something larger than us. This is supported by research using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

To create a New Year’s mood, you can use all the traditional attributes of the holiday. You can decorate your house, buy presents for loved ones, listen to music, cook traditional dishes and light a candle with the scent of pine needles. However, even if you have done all these things, the New Year’s spirit may still not come. This is why it happens sometimes.

• Due to the stress, the period before the New Year can be a difficult time for many people. Work-related tasks such as submitting annual reports and planning for the future can add to the pressure. Additionally, household chores often increase, especially if one is responsible for preparing the festive table and cleaning before the holidays. Buying gifts for loved ones can also be time-consuming. When overwhelmed by all these tasks, it can be difficult to maintain a cheerful mood and one may only look forward to a long weekend of relaxation.
• Because of comparing yourself to others. At the end of the year, the results start to appear on social media – stories about career achievements, exciting trips and personal growth. This can also spoil your mood if, in comparison to the impressive results of others, you feel like you haven’t achieved anything significant. But it’s especially frustrating to see people bragging disguised as complaining, for example: “It was a really hard year for me. I had to move to a huge apartment in the city center.”
• Because of the New Year’s Eve marketing. Marketers suggest coping with the lack of New Year’s mood simply by shopping. Supposedly, if you buy new Christmas lights or a beautiful outfit, you will soon feel a sense of celebration. And because of the desire of entrepreneurs to sell more New Year and Christmas goods, they appear on store shelves in late autumn.

• Because of the Christmas lights, many people are sure that bright New Year’s illumination in the house only lifts their mood and helps them feel the atmosphere of the holiday. However, not all scientists agree with this. One study showed that people’s mood can be negatively affected not only by being in a dark place, but also by too bright lighting. Scientists called rooms particularly unpleasant in which it is usually quite dark, but bright and colored spotlights are installed – dark rooms with garlands.

The weather plays a significant role in creating the New Year mood. Snowy streets, sparkling frosty air, and crunching snow underfoot remind us of winter fairy tales and cozy holidays. For many people, such landscapes are associated with the approaching New Year.

However, the lack of snow or slush can slightly dampen the anticipation of the holiday, forcing us to look for festive mood in other ways – decorations, lights, or atmospheric music. In any case, the weather serves as a backdrop that enhances or compensates for our efforts to make the New Year magical.