Have you ever found yourself starting to dread the holidays? Ever felt more like saying “bah, humbug” than “merry Christmas” when you run into family and friends? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. While the holidays are supposed to be a joyous occasion, trying to meet unrealistic expectations from decorating the mantle and trimming the tree, to hosting and entertaining family and friends, can bring out the Scrooge in anyone. Suddenly the desire to create the perfect dream Christmas crashes into the realities of tight budgets, too little time and too many obligations, huge crowds while shopping, and other issues.

A simple way to ease the stress is with a holiday-scented candle.  “Many people tell us that they find the very act of lighting a candle to be relaxing,” says Bob Nelson, president of the National Candle Association. “However, the fragrances play a far bigger role. Festive fragrances can trigger fond Christmas memories all the way back to childhood.”

There is a substantial body of research supporting Nelson’s assertions. According to The Daily Mail Online, a research study at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel used actual brain scans to demonstrate that new “odor memories” - such as the association of a perfume with a person - become a permanent memory in the brain.  And often these memories present a clearer recollection of a person, event or time than anything caused by sounds, pictures or words.

But what makes these memories so different? “Part of it is the association people have with certain scents. For example, if going out in the woods with fresh fallen snow on the ground to cut down your own Christmas tree was part of your holiday tradition, then Yankee Candle Company’s Sparkling Snow or Balsam & Cedar candles will take you back to those special moments,” says Hope Margala Klein, executive vice president of brand, innovation and merchandising at the Yankee Candle Company, which makes popular scented candles for all occasions.

“Every holiday memory has a scent all its own that Yankee Candle tries to identify,” Margala Klein adds. “That’s why we have far more than just basic pine scented holiday candles, with everything from the buttery rich vanilla scent of our Christmas Cookie fragrance to the sticks of cinnamon and hints of clove of Sparkling Cinnamon. This year, for instance, one of our new holiday fragrances is Peppermint Bark. The mint and chocolate treat is a popular tradition in many areas and every family seems to have their own recipe that’s handed down from generation to generation.”

Lighting a candle is the easiest way to put some Christmas spirit into the air, and bring back the memories of your childhood when the holidays gave you such excitement and joy. Visit www.yankeecandle.com to find more seasonal fragrances for your home.