Christmas trees in November? Why residents are putting their trimmings up even earlier this year

Residents across Greater Manchester have taken it upon themselves to deck the halls early this year in an attempt to fight off coronavirus blues as winter dawns.

Winter itself can be a tough time with around one in three adults experiencing symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) including persistent low moods, a loss of pleasure or interest in normal everyday activities, feelings of despair, guilt and worthlessness, lack of energy and irritability.

The number of people experiencing some form of depression has also almost doubled over the course of the pandemic growing from 9.7 per cent to 19.2 per cent.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, warned of a winter depression saying: “If we trap people in punishing lockdowns during winter, we will have a mental health crisis on top of a pandemic to deal with,” as Prime Minister Boris Johnson was weighing up the options regarding the tiered lockdown system.

Christmas enthusiast Megan Lamb said: “It’s been a tough year for a lot of people I think and to do something nice away from the reach of the virus is what everyone needs.” 

“We put our tree up the other day, baubles and tinsel, the lot. It’s something I look forward to every year so why not do it a little earlier to lift the mood?”

“I understand that Christmas isn’t always what it’s made out to be, but I think it’s important to celebrate all the little things, like putting your tree up and that, more so now with what’s going on.”

For anyone struggling over the winter period the local NHS mental health helpline is 0800 234 6123. Samaritans can be found on 116 123 or online at https://webchat.samaritans.org/. Mental health charity Mind can be contacted at 0300 123 3393.