The Definition of Nostalgia

1. The term was coined in 1688 by Johannes Hofer (1669–1752) in his Basel dissertation.
2. Hofer introduced nostalgia as “homesickness”/ “Swiss illness”/ “Swiss homesickness”. (Swiss mercenaries who in the plains of lowlands of France or Italy were pining for their native mountain landscapes.)
3. The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound.
4. Nostalgia= γόστος (nostos: returning home) + άλγος (algos: pain/longing)
5. In the Early Modern period, it was described as a medical condition, a form of melancholy, and came to be an important topic in Romanticism.
6. Sometimes Nostalgia is brought on by a sudden image/remembrance of sth. from one’s childhood.
7. First use of it in a publication was in Sir Joseph Bank’s journal of first voyage. (Captain Cook in the Pacific)
8. 1850s: Nostalgia became a symptom/pathological process. (Not a particular disease)
9. Be used commonly in WWI/WWII. (American armed forces)
10. Feeling nostalgic: Commonly be used to describe pleasurable emotions.
11. A new meaning: Appreciation for the past. (Not yearning/longing to return to the past)
12. Yearning for the past: Remember beautiful memories; forget about terrible memories.
13. “Good old days”:

• Belle Époque(Late 19th~ Before WWI): Golden Age in France.
• Merry England(Mid Age~ Industrial Rev.): Utopian conception of English society/culture. Eg. Thatched cottage/ country inn/ a cup of tea/ Sunday roast/ fairytales with elves & pixies for children in the Victorian period.
• Neo-Victorian: Victorian + Edwardian (Modern principles w/ tech.). It is also strongly emerging genre of steampunk.

Reference: Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nostalgia)