What is hygge, a funny sounding word behind a serious life philosophy?
You might have heard of hygge in the past couple of years as the world fell in love with this Danish mood. Who wouldn’t, knowing that hygge is all about cosiness and comfort.
But, what is hygge exactly?
In Danish, it roughly translates to cosiness. Still, it goes much deeper than that. It actually originates from the Norwegian language meaning well-being. And that is what this experience is all about.
It’s no coincidence that Scandinavian countries can teach us a thing or two about cosiness. After all, you need to learn a couple of tricks to survive the long cold winters. Hygge is a great mood for all year round, but it works best on a dark winter day. It’s about creating a warm cosy atmosphere. It’s about candlelight. A warm cup of tea, or hot chocolate. Sitting next to a fireplace with your favourite blanket. Spending time with the people you love.
Is hygge one of the reasons Danes are the happiest people in the world?
Now that you understand a bit better what hygge is you can see why the world is craving more of it. Hygge should be part of our lives regardless of our address. Taking time to create nice atmosphere by lighting some candles and a fire (for the lucky ones that have a fireplace) makes everyone feel better. Cosying up with a cup of tea and a blanket while reading a great book also does wonders. Cooking a nice meal for family and friends does as well. So, Danish or not, we all have some hygge in us, we just didn’t know it.
So, while the winter still lurks outside my window, my surroundings make me feel cosy and warm. Some would say that that’s hygge. But, however you call it and whatever language you use, I just know that these moments make me feel good. May we all have more cosy/ hygge/ mysigt moments. In such a stressful world we certainly need them.
