Do you find pleasure in nestling deep in your blanket on frigid Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , or warming up the house with a dumb - cooking stew ? Do you feel mental object with sharing a simple meal with family and friends , or gathering around a campfire under a moonlit sky ?
The Danes have a word for all these thing : hygge . But hygge is not any one “ thing , ” per se . It ’s a Norse lifestyle concept that embrace all things cozy ( in its most simplistic definition ) and the intimate connection one feels with others . While there ’s no direct translation in English , hygge can be thought of as the interest of everyday happiness , or the art of create a calming and well-heeled atmosphere in and out of the home .
Hygge can be found at a picnic in the park in summer , or wrapped in a woollen stroke on the couch in winter . unstrain in shearling slippers is hyggelig ( the adjective form of the Book ) . arrange flowers in your home is hyggelig . Dining under a train of bistro lights is hyggelig . canoe on a lake , coming back to your cabin , hear to the rainwater , putting a joint in the oven , and pouring wine while you reminisce with Friend — you ca n’t get any more hyggelig than that .
Pronouncedhue - guh , hygge was shortlist forOxford Dictionaries ’ “ Word of the Year ” in 2016 , following a trend embraced all over the world by people who need to roll in the hay the enigma to the“happiest multitude on earth . ”Clearly , we ’re feeling burnt out and broken down in the het up political climate , and nothing soothe the soul more than enjoying simple pleasures and making meaningful rituals of mundane tasks . With politically profound competitor like alt - rightfield , Brexiteer , and woke also making the Oxford list ( and a depressing ticket of other 2016 “ speech of the yr ” that includedpost - truth , xenophobia , surreal , anddumpster flame ) , hygge was a welcome breathing spell of fresh air . ( It even made the shortlist forCollins English Dictionary ’s “ give-and-take of the Year”as well . )
We ’re living in uncertain times no matter which side of the fence ( er , paries ? ) we ’re on . When you need a little break from your Facebook - move around - political feed , do like the Danes do : disconnect from technology , throw on the comfy dyad of pants you on the Q.T. love but are too humiliated to wear out in public ( yep , there ’s a Danish countersign for those pants , too — hyggebukser ) , and immerse yourself in a secure Word or broil a cake that fills your theater with all variety of amazing smells . It ’s about wholesome and nutrify thing and doing what make you feel affectionate and blurry within .
How do you care to hygge ?
