Nostalgia is defined as a wistful feeling of longing for the past, particularly a happy time.
For some reason, autumn, more than any other season, evokes a strong feeling of nostalgia in many people.
It might be the changing of the weather, as the cold air comes rushing back one finds themselves staying inside longer. The activities of summer no longer distract the mind from internal contemplation.
When the air begins to chill, we turn to good books and favorite movies to entertain us. Naturally, one can’t help but reminisce on days gone by. Particularly, days when the stresses of adulthood didn’t plague every action — days where the biggest concern was what to eat for dinner.
In this way, nostalgia acts as an escape. We travel to bygone eras full of roaring fires in the hearth and steaming cups of hot chocolate with one, overly large, marshmallow swirling on top.
If the cold air, driving us to our warm homes, is what brings about nostalgia, then why doesn’t winter win out as everyone’s favorite season?
The answer to this is the double-edged sword that is snow.
Snow is like a favorite meal. It fills you with happiness at first but have too much and you soon grow sick of it.
The cold air of fall serves as a gentle reminder of what is to come. It pushes one indoors, though, with no real vehemence. Snow, however, bites at our face and hands like an unseen insect. Veritably demanding one seclude themselves to the comfort of their home.
This is where fall wins out against winter.
In addition to autumn’s changing weather, it also brings time with family. Nothing incites nostalgia more than a bustling kitchen getting ready for the coming feast.
You guessed it: Thanksgiving. It is a holiday based on being thankful for happy times gone by.
We indulge in the ritual of cooking the same meal year after year and answer the same questions asked by aunts and uncles, as if like clockwork.
Yet, one cannot help but love the habitual nature of Thanksgiving. It is like walking well-known paths of conversation.
It reminds people of being children, eagerly anticipating that first bite of turkey and mashed potatoes.
There is a rush of anticipation as you sit in your desk, waiting for the final hours of the school day to tick slowly by.
When the last bell of the school day rings, it begins a full week sans obligations. No homework to hurriedly scrawl answers for on the bus ride to school. No more tests to study for.
Just freedom and the promise of family and food are in the future.
How can one not wistfully long for happier times, when autumn is all about walking the well-worn paths of childhood?
We partake in the yearly rituals of warm sweaters and cozy coffee shops, turning page after page as the leaves turn from green to vibrant reds and yellows.
In nostalgia, fall has an unfair advantage. It can envelope us so completely, we hardly notice it even happening.
All this and more is why fall is everyone’s favorite season. Until one strays from the paths of childhood and the coffee shops of present, fall will continue to reign supreme.
Griffen Winget can be reached at [email protected]