Christmas thoughts, nostalgia, and a pillow.

The term was originally coined by Johannes Hofer, a medical student in 1678 (νόστος = nostos = returning home, άλγος = algos = pain/longing) roots, to refer to "the pain a sick person feels because he wishes to return to his native land, and fears never to see it again". This neologism was so successful that people forgot its origin. Moreover, its original meaning--referring to a serious medical disorder--has been lost as the word nostalgia entered everyday language.

During the period, from the late seventeenth century to the late nineteenth century, that doctors diagnosed and treated nostalgia, it also had other names in various languages — mal du pays (country sickness) in French, Heimweh (home-pain) in German, and el mal de corazón (heart-pain) in Spanish.

I am not sure that I would wish sickness or pain on anyone, but I would recommend that if you have even one good memory, at least for a few minutes, bathe in it. As I held a small heart shaped green and white velvet pillow that belonged to Grandmother, Mother, and then son, I fall peacefully ill for a few moments as I listen to the music box sewn into the pillow tick off the notes to "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and experience generations of Christmas. And for a moment with grandparents, parents, and past...I belong.