Not feeling it?

Since we were kids, the anticipation for Christmas was monumental. The excitement and jitters you'd get on Christmas Eve were unmatched to any other feeling in the world. However, then we grew up. We're sure you've heard it out of friends or colleagues this week that they're not feeling *Christmassy* yet. Maybe you yourself don't feel Christmassy either. Well, turns out its all to do with science. University of Reading's Patricia Riddell said in a recent interview: "Feeling Christmassy is not a simple emotion but a combination." Basically, it's a mix of happiness, excitement and awe - the feelings we all would have got on Christmas Eve before Santa arrived. Your body releases these feel-good chemicals (like dopamine and oxytocin) which makes you all warm and fussy. But the things that made us warm and fuzzy don't make us warm and fuzzy anymore. There's no excitement for Santa, there's the stress of buying presents, it's expensive and just because it's Christmas doesn't mean that everything else in our lives stop... therefore we don't get those combo of emotions anymore. Patricia said: "As adults, we know we can never again enjoy those wondrous feelings and beliefs. It isn't surprising, then, that many people are disappointed when they don't experience the fulfilment of the promise of Christmas."