Nostalgia

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Nostalgia is an emotion which is often described as a bittersweet longing for the past, typically for a period of time accompanied by happy memories or emotions. It is often described as a sort of sad pleasure, which typically involves longing for a past memory, whether real or romanticized, that cannot be recovered. It can also refer to a type of homesickness. The word nostalgia is a neoclassical compound derived from Greek, consisting of νόστος (nóstos), a Homeric word meaning "homecoming", and ἄλγος (álgos), meaning "pain"; the word was coined by a 17th-century medical student to describe the anxieties displayed by Swiss mercenaries fighting away from home. Described as a medical condition—a form of melancholy—in the early modern period, it became an important trope in Romanticism. Nostalgia is associated with a longing for the past, its personalities, possibilities, and events, usually described as the "good old days" or the "glory days". There is a predisposition, caused by cognitive...

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