You may find yourself overcome by nostomania this time of year.
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No, no—nostomania is not the sort of mania that causes you to become wild-eyed and rip up the house in a frenzy.
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Nor does it make you scale tall trees to escape the madness.
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That is an entirely different holiday issue. I’m talking about missing your one and only, Jasper Tomkins.
Nostomania is more this kind of mania:
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You know the feeling. You don the cozy crimson hat your sister knitted for you last year and stare into space while absentmindedly humming “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” because you are beset by a certain melancholy that can only be called nostomania (nos-tuh-MAY-nee-uh): an irresistible compulsion to return home; intense homesickness.
Yup.
You hit the nail on the head! I’ve always wondered why there is always this uncertain melancholy every year in the days preceding Christmas? No matter how much one tries to recreate the past, it never quite meets the memory you have in your head and heart. Somehow, it always falls a bit short like something is missing and you just don’t know what. Yup!
I guess I’m kind of fortunate, I don’t miss my dysfunctional family christmas celebrations at all. Lots of marriages, lots of step brothers and sisters, lots of going from place to place. I’m happy now with my own personal celebrations with friends . I’m headed to an outdoor bonfire party tonite. I decorate like there is no tomorrow with my vintage and antiques Christmas decor. My house is cozy and lovely.
My most memorable Christmas was in India where we put on a travelling Nativity play with real CAMELS, and all the other animals. Baby Jesus was a real newborn. The 3 kings were amazingly authentic .Our costumes were exquisite with all the silks and fabrics. The locals were fascinated and it was the most close to the true meaning of Christmas I ever experienced.
Jasper Tomkins? The writer? Oh yes, I do miss him. And, yes, a serious case of nostomania comes with the holidays for me every year. So to feed it, I get out Mom’s huge collection of holiday dishes (Vernonware!), starting at Thanksgiving and pull out all of the classic Christmas movies to continue the nostalgia-filled atmosphere through to the New Year and just enjoy it. With a smile. A huge smile. It’s a good way to feel my loved ones around me once again. And it creates a base of memories for my grandchildren to have their own nostomania when they grow up.