Nostalgia– a Christmas reflection

If ever there is a time of year that induces feelings of nostalgia, I would guess that Christmas carries the day. I have been thinking much about nostalgia– about what exactly it is and how it touches us so deeply in a hidden place within our being. Nostalgia, like grief, is present through a sense of loss; like grief, it also contains a longing that can bring forth a presence. Nostalgia draws upon memories, upon associations and experiences that evoke a feeling of safety. Probably this safety, whether it was ever real or is largely romanticized through imagination, speaks to very real pain in the present and anxieties for the future. Because of these feelings, a time of lost safety is desired again. We turn back to the past when the future feels threatening.

For me, nostalgia comes in many ways at Christmas. Hearing a Burl Ives or Perry Como song in a coffeshop; seeing Christmas lights and trees in the downtown store windows; being immersed in a sea of red and green in department stores; the smells of Christmas around the house; even Starbucks cups!

But I wonder about this nostalgic tug. I wonder if it is good or bad, healthy or hurtful. Is it another gimmick of commercialization and consumerism, urging us to spend more money by touching us– even exploiting us– in an intimate place of emptiness and longing inside? Stores utilize this tactic to sell more and more of their products. Is it a kind of escapism from the present, seeking to live a life that is not present in the moment? Is it false insofar as that which is being idealized and longed for was never even as good as it actually seems in retrospect, a romantic re-creation? Or is it a very real part of being human and the longing that comes with living in the flesh and experiencing life, beauty, joy, and hope within this world?

As I feel my heart being pulled from time to time this holiday season, I wonder what is pulling it, and how it is being pulled. I think probably just being aware of this is good for now. It is probably a combination of all of these things listed above and much more. Longing surely is not a bad thing. Longing that comes from an inner space must be even better, a longing for the sacred source of life and love.

That seems to be a Christmas longing that can be embraced.

Advertisement