By John Salak –
It seems like everyone knows at least one person—and maybe more—who is obsessed with Christmas. These individuals are the ones likely to issue online posts in June letting people know that it’s only six months until Santa arrives. They are also likely to embrace the concept of Christmas in July.
Hopefully, the vast majority of the merry wanders are not suffering from Obsessive Christmas Disorder, which involves enduring the self-inflicted pain of trying to create the perfect holiday.
Whether suffering from the disorder or not, what these Christmas-happy individuals may have in common is the sense that the holiday comes around more quickly each year. And Christmas-lovers may not be the only ones experiencing a holiday-speeding sensation. British and Iraqi researchers, in fact, report that Muslims who look forward to Ramadan, which involves fasting, prayer, reflection and community, may also feel their cherished holiday seems to get here sooner every year.
The researchers suggest that someone’s experience of time is shaped not only by what they’ve done but what is left to do. The feeling that a holiday comes around faster could also mean that someone’s sense of time is slightly distorted.
The Iraqi and British teams acknowledged that Ramadan and Christmas are obviously extremely different holidays. However, the perception of time for those deeply involved may be similarly influenced by marketing and other factors. The experience of time for all may be shaped both by individuals’ attention to its passage and their plans for the future.
The researchers came to their conclusions after conducting a survey of more than 1,000 people in the United Kingdom and more than 600 people in Iraq. They asked the respondents if Christmas or Ramadan seemed to come quicker each year. They also measured their memory function and attention to time as well as collecting information about age, gender and social life.
The results were surprisingly similar in both countries. In the United Kingdom, 76 percent of people felt Christmas came quicker every year, while 70 percent of Iraqis felt the same about Ramadan.
All respondents were more likely to report this perceived acceleration if they enjoyed the holiday. Brits with better social lives also tended to feel Christmas came quicker all the time.
Beyond this, holidays felt like they came earlier every year for those who thought about the passage of time more often and if they were prone to prospective memory errors—such as forgetting to do a planned task. Age, surprisingly, did not play a role in the perception.
