Are you happy? Yes? That’s awesome. But if your answer is “meh, sorta” or just plain “no,” it’s time for hygge. If you’re not familiar with hygge, get ready because hygge is becoming a thing. Actually, it’s been a thing in Denmark for quite some time, but it’s starting to take root right here in the U.S. No need for alarm — it’s all good.
So, what is it? I’ll let the Oxford English Dictionary do the talking: hygge is “a quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being (regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture).” Coziness, comfortable conviviality, contentment — don’t you feel better already?
Although hygge (pronounced hue-gah) centers around a state of mind/existence rather than material possessions, there are certain ingredients that greatly contribute to a hygge experience. Candles, soft blankets, warm drinks — these are classic hygge-inspiring elements. And from these items you would be correct in deducing that winter and hygge go together like tea and crumpets (ooh — those are hygge, too!) Hygge, however, can happen anytime, anywhere.
Meik Wiking, the author of “The Little Book of Hygge” (he’s also the CEO of the Happiness Research Institute located in Copenhagen Denmark), presents a hygge primer, if you will. I read it in one afternoon on a recent (and rare) sunny Sunday, sitting outside on my patio, sipping a tasty beverage while hummingbirds zipped and bunnies frolicked about in the much-needed break from the rain. By the end of the first chapter, I had an epiphany. That sunny afternoon was completely hygge. Everything in that moment gave me a profound sense of well-being while the hummers and the hares provided the “comfortable conviviality.” To realize that I was inadvertently doing what the book in my hands was promoting — well, let’s just say that if I ever felt aligned with the universe, um, yeah, that was it.
