If you prefer Christmas Eve to Christmas Day, there might be a neurological reason for that

Feeling happy on Christmas Eve but subdued on Christmas Day? Dr Toby Wise from King’s College might have a neurological reason for it:

“Several areas of the brain are involved in expectation, but a very important part is the prefrontal cortex”, explained Dr Wise. “The prefrontal cortex, located at the front of the brain, is responsible for complex cognitive behaviour, including imagining future scenarios.

“What’s really striking is the neural circuits involved in an imagined good scenario and a real-life good scenario are much the same. To an extent, when you’re imagining Christmas, your brain is acting as if it’s already Christmas Day.

Of course, if you live in certain mainland European countries like Germany, Poland, and Switzerland, this will be puzzling since the main festivities are celebrated on 24th December. But for everyone else, maybe those Christmas blues on 25th have a psychological reasoning.

Somewhat related – a 1955 paper discussed Christmas “neurosis” and possible factors such as “unresolved sibling rivalries”:

The psychodynamics of depressive reactions which occur at Christmas time have been inadequately studied. It is the contention of the present essay that depressions which occur during the Christmas season are primarily the result of re-awakened conflicts related to unresolved sibling rivalries. On the basis of a study of seventeen patients who suffered Christmas depressions, it is suggested tentatively that partly because the holiday celebrates the birth of a Child so favored that competition with Him is futile, carlier memories, especially of oral frustration, are rekindled.