SEASONAL NOSTALGIA, A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD

Each holiday season, the period following Thanksgiving, culminating in Christmas and New Year, including Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, becomes for many of us a time for nostalgic reflection. What triggers a multitude of sentimental recollections for me every year is the erection and trimming of our Christmas tree. Each ornament seems to elicit its own story, evoking its own set of wistful memories. There is the first ornament my wife and I displayed the year we got married, 41 years ago; pictures of past pets; commemorative decorations; sweeping collections of travel related items accumulated over the years; miniaturized exhibits of short-lived interests and hobbies; and some relics passed on by generations of ornament hoarders. In some ways, our annual Christmas tree reflects our accumulated history, and seems to remind us of our disposition at multiple intervals over time. It provides us with the sense that life has roots and continuity, awakening nostalgic feelings, usually invoking pleasant associations, although simultaneously regretting the passage of time. One of the downsides of retirement is that you have a lot of time on your hands to think about things. While caught up in bouts of nostalgia, it is not difficult to wonder whether it is actually healthy to reconnect with your past. Neither can you escape pondering how others process memories accentuated by seasonal sentiments. For centuries, nostalgia was treated as a "neurological disease." The noun "nostalgia" was first used in 1688 by a Swiss physician, Johannes Hofer, to describe a medical diagnosis for mercenary soldiers. He equated it to the German word "heimweh," or "homesickness," and attributed soldiers' mental and physical maladies to their longing to return home. By the 18th century, nostalgia was no longer considered a provincial disease. Physicians across Europe studied the nostalgic condition, often advancing different theories about evolving forms of homesickness. Nostalgia became an established pathology, a mental disorder that continued to afflict soldiers separated from home, or people displaced by the onset of modernity. Nostalgia was very familiar to Union and Confederate army doctors and surgeons during the Civil War as well. They recognized the condition as a legitimate mental disorder. Terminally ill soldiers were frequently diagnosed as dying from nostalgia. It was not until relatively recently that nostalgia as a condition became a field of study with a broader focus. Students now believe that nostalgia occurs universally, appears to be common around the world, and has positive qualities. It has been shown to counteract loneliness, boredom and anxiety. It tends to make people more generous to strangers and more tolerant of outsiders. It seems to be more prevalent on cold days, and can be induced through music. Some of which may suggest why the holiday season seems to be prime time for nostalgic reflection. (John Tierney, "What is Nostalgia Good For? Quite a Bit Research Shows," NY Times, July 8, 2013). It should be reassuring to recognize that people reflecting on memories this holiday season are no longer considered to be suffering from some type of pathological condition, and that for many the consequences tend to be positive. However, we should also acknowledge that nostalgic reminiscences are not necessarily the result of a deliberate act, but a process involuntarily evoked by the trappings of the season. For a growing number of individuals and families the contrast between their current condition and sentimental past experiences can be devastatingly painful. Hundreds, if not thousands, of families affected by the result of the disastrous tornadoes ripping through five states a week ago lost everything they held dear. Well over a hundred family members were killed, and entire communities were destroyed. Calamitous events of this magnitude are often amplified by seasonal sentiments for years to come. Close to 800,000 Covid related deaths are leaving voids at family gatherings, and more than 1,165 teens and children killed this year alone by never-ending gun violence won't take their seat at the dinner table this season. More than 553,000 homeless individuals may have their memories, but nothing to celebrate. And about 38 million Americans, including 12 million children, will go hungry. Countless others are struggling with their personal demons. Chances are that, unless impaired, most of these will experience their own nostalgic feelings, wondering "What could have been? What would have been? What if...? If only..." Those of us who are able and comfortable with our own nostalgic recollections ought to consider trying to make nostalgia work for some of those who are unable to reconcile their current situation with their past. This would be an excellent time to help those who need it create new memories. Theo Wierdsma