St.Mary’s Christmas Tree Festival

Christmas is a fantastic time for many. It is a time that most spend with either family, friends, loved ones, neighbours or all of the above. Christmas allows many of us to celebrate, be it for traditional or religious reasons, the bonds we have with those around us.

However for many, this time of the year can also be a catalyst for mental health issues. Changes in weather, family disputes, homelessness, the struggle to find food or the overindulgence of food, the financial burden that Christmas can bring about, and poverty are just a few examples that can onset mental health issues in 1 in 4 of us, during this time of the year.

One of our aims as a charity is to focus on helping to dismantle the stigma attached to mental health, whilst providing knowledge of the help and support available in our local community of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. One way that we felt could help us to do this is through combining Christmas and raising awareness of mental health during this time of the year.

St.Mary’s Christmas Tree Festival is the largest Christmas Tree Festival in the country. More than 200 organisations take part, and more than 1300 magical trees are decorated; our chosen theme being ‘We Get By With A Little Help From Our Friends’. We want to allow festival attendees to read about Lamp service users and their stories. We want to share the interactions that we have daily with our service users, and how we have helped them.  These are the type of stories that we feel portray the effects that mental health can have on a individuals day to day life.

If you would like to see our Christmas tree that is mental health focused and an array of other trees, please see the information below, and we look forward to seeing you there!

Date: Friday, 29th November 2019 – Tuesday, 3rd December 2019
Location: St Mary’s Parish Church, Melton Mowbray
Cost: £2. Accompanied children FREE.