Holiday nostalgia is a good thing

People who suffer from holiday nostalgia have been found to excel at maintaining healthy personal relationships and choose healthier social ways of coping with their troubles, a new study has revealed.

The Nostalgia Inventory test, which measures how deeply people feel nostalgic, was invented by psychologist Krystine Batcho in 1995, and has since helped us understand the effects of nostalgia. This recent study has found that holiday nostalgia can be a good thing, reawakening good memories and relationships.

The holiday season is often a time for families and friends to get together and reconnect. Often reminiscing about good times, great occasions or happy locations; the nostalgia created by the holiday season becomes a nice bonding occasion. Re-connecting in the holiday season reminds us of special times and feelings associated with those times, such as being carefree and young or stress-free.

On the flip side, many people use the holiday season to create fond memories rather than re-create old memories. Ski holidays and holidays on the beach are becoming quite favourable around the festive season, with many families using the time off work to travel abroad.