Definition
Nostalgia is something everyone ultimately comes across during their lifetime and something which I and many other people are fond of. Wikipedia defines nostalgia as the following:
"The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealized form. The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of νόστος (nóstos), meaning "returning home", a Homeric word, and ἄλγος (álgos), meaning "pain, ache". It was described as a medical condition, a form of melancholy, in the Early Modern period, and came to be an important topic in Romanticism. In common, less clinical usage, nostalgia sometimes includes a general interest in past eras and their personalities and events, especially the "good old days" of a few generations back recast in an idyllic light, such as the Belle Époque, Merry England, Neo-Victorian aesthetics, the US "Antebellum" Old South, etc. Sometimes it is brought on by a sudden image, or remembrance of something from one's childhood."
However, the term of "feeling nostalgic" is more commonly used to describe pleasurable emotions associated with and/or a longing to go back to a particular period of time.
Natsukashii
A more appropriate term for the positive feeling of nostalgia, is the Japanese term, 'natsukashii' which loosely translated means, 'a sentimental feeling of familiarity'
Why is nostalgia good?
Comfort
Takes us back to a happy time
A 'natural drug' to keep our spirits up
Positive associations with certain 'things'
We learn from these memories
Familiarity
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