![]() ![]() In the colder weather and shorter days of the Northern Hemisphere this time of year, ancient winter solstice traditions celebrated December as nature’s annual time of darkness and reflection before rebirth. It turns out that holiday nostalgia is conditioned by centuries of culture, and nostalgia itself may be hard-wired into our brains, according to both Batcho and Wildschut. ![]() LOOKING GOOD REAL WAR SAYS NOSTALGIA TVThe triggers for holiday nostalgia have been everywhere for more than a month: the twinkling lights, the scent of eggnog and gingerbread rising from coffeehouse lattes, Christmas carols playing on store soundtracks.Īnd then there are the “Nutcracker” ballets, the “Christmas Carol” renditions and annual replays of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Elf,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and other holiday-themed movies and TV shows that often feature idealized visions of the past, big houses surrounded by snow and life-affirming stories about the beauty of love, family and human goodness.īut the triggers don’t just come from contemporary Don Drapers or Hollywood moguls who are pushing our sentiment buttons to sell products or entertainment. LOOKING GOOD REAL WAR SAYS NOSTALGIA SERIESDon Draper, the 1960s advertising whiz of “Mad Men,” a TV series itself steeped in nostalgia, described the emotion as a “twinge in your heart more powerful than memory alone.” It takes us to a place where “we ache to go again … where we know we are loved.” “Also, Christmas involves rituals, including foods and drinks, that remain the same across time and therefore become potent memory cues.”ĭictionaries variously describe nostalgia as a sentimental yearning to return to happy times and to re-experience the warmth of close relationships. The emphasis on social interaction during the holidays is “truly the stuff of nostalgia,” emails Tim Wildschut, an associate professor and member of a research team at the University of Southampton in England who studies nostalgia. “Like anniversaries and other temporal landmarks, the holidays remind us of special times and help us keep track of what has changed, and what has remained the same in our lives - and in ourselves,” says Krystine Batcho, a professor at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York, who focuses on the psychological benefits of nostalgia. Indeed, taking mental trips down memory lane while wrapping gifts or taking the kids to a tree-lighting can be a way to reflect on important relationships and recharge emotionally and psychologically this time of year. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |