Hygge

Hygge (/ˈhjuːɡə/ HEW-gə or /ˈhuːɡə/ HOO-gə) is a Danish and Norwegian word for a mood of coziness and comfortable conviviality with feelings of wellness and contentment.

With Lucy’s college adventure happening on a different continent, I’ve been fortunate to have an excuse to indulge in one of my passions – traveling.

Each Fall and Spring I fly across the ocean to see her.  I take a week or so to share a few moments of her life and settle into a different rhythm.   For those of you who share my wanderlust, I’m sure you’ll agree that traveling offers an opportunity to put life into prospective and, with today’s contentious political climate, provides some respite from the noise.

And traveling this Fall was particularly special, as I not only explored Amsterdam, but a new city, Copenhagen, with one of my oldest and dearest friends, Liz. 

During one of our many walking tours our guide shared the Danes “Hygge” winter lifestyle.  Quiet evenings, board games, gathering with friends, sitting by the fire… I loved the idea and knew it was a concept I wanted to explore.  As, I was researching the word I stumbled upon a website called www.hyggehome.com.  The author, Alex Beauchamp, described the concept so perfectly I thought I would share some of her reflections:

Hygge (or to be “hyggeligt”) doesn’t require learning “how to”, adopting it as a lifestyle or buying anything. It’s not a thing and anyone telling you different either doesn’t understand it or is literally trying to sell you something that has nothing to do with the concept. You can’t buy a ‘hygge living room’ and there’s no ‘hygge foods’ to eat.

 It literally only requires consciousness, a certain slowness, and the ability to not just be present – but recognize and enjoy the present. That’s why so many people distill ‘hygge’ down to being a ‘feeling’ – because if you don’t feel hygge, you probably aren’t using the word right.

 Another definition of hygge is “an art of creating intimacy” (either with yourself, friends and your home). While there’s no one English word or simple definition to describe hygge, several can be used interchangeably to describe the idea of hygge such as cosiness, charm, happiness, ‘contentness’, security, familiarity, comfort, reassurance, kinship, and simpleness.

Danes created hygge because they were trying to survive boredom, cold, dark and sameness and the undefinable feeling of Hygge was a way for them to find moments to celebrate or acknowledge and to break up the day, months or years. With so many cold, dark, days, the simple act of a candle glowing with a cup of coffee in the morning or a home cooked evening meal with friends can make a huge difference to one’s spirit.

By creating simple rituals without effort {such as brewing real tea with a little china cup every evening to stopping at the flower shop every week} the Danes see both the domestic and personal life as an art form and not every drudgery to get away from. They incorporate hygge into their daily life so it becomes a natural extension rather than a forced and stressful event.

 So whether it’s making coffee a verb by creating a ritual of making it every morning to a cosy evening in with friends where you’re just enjoying each others company to the simple act of lighting a candle with every meal, hygge is just about being aware of a good moment.

 I loved her sentiments as my mother was devoted to creating hygge around our table with a hot breakfast each morning, grilled cheese and tomato soup at lunch followed by gorgeous dinners set by candlelight.   So, it’s in this spirit,  and coupled with the dark Chicago evenings that lay ahead, we decided to devote November to sharing some “hygge ideas” (check them out on Facebook) topped off by a month of our favorite comfort foods. 

Author’s Note –

If you want to learn more about Hygge there is a terrific article in the New Yorker. My favorite ways to experience Hygge are… starting out my day with a hot cup of coffee in a mug Jane bought me years ago, wearing my PJ’s and cozy socks to work (perfect for a home office),  and settling in for a long afternoon talk with my friend Kate at our favorite coffee spot in Glencoe.  We’d LOVE to hear or see yours!

Zen Moment

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. -Annie Dillard”

― Louisa Thomsen Brits, The Book of Hygge: The Danish Art of Living Well

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