How The Danish Way of Life “HYGGE” Keeps Denmark At The Top of World Happiness Index
It's not just another word
When I moved to Denmark a year ago, I really wanted to know what makes this country “one of the happiest countries in the world”. Of course, it is a rich and developed nation with the best of the infrastructure in the world but we all know that money and infrastructure alone can’t make you happy. While searching for an answer to this intriguing question, I came across the word “Hygge”. Interestingly there is no literal meaning of Hygge. I read many articles to understand what exactly Hygge mean.
A word which doesn’t have a simple literal meaning, how can that make this country happy?
What helped me understand the meaning was not only reading articles or books on Hygge but the fact that I could see it closely in the Danish culture and I could hygge at home with my husband and son. When you experience Hygge yourself, you understand the meaning because
“HYGGE IS A FEELING YOU CAN NOT TRANSLATE”
Hygge is a sense of coziness, comfort and feeling safe.
Interestingly Hygge is associated with loads of things like — woollen socks, coffee, books, warm blankets, candles, and cake. But this doesn’t mean that if you have these things you can Hygge. Before I talk about how you can live this Danish way of life, let me share a little bit about the word Hygge.
Hygge is pronounced as “HOO-gah”.
Hygge can be used as a noun, an adjective and a verb.
“This is such a hyggelig (hygge-like) book.”
“It was very hyggelig to drink cocoa with you yesterday”
Hyggekrog means a nook or corner in a home which makes you feel cozy. It could be a window seat, a reclining chair or an armchair. For me, the big blue armchair is the most comfortable place in my home. It faces towards the balcony which looks upon the open sky and green fields. It's been more than a year now and I am never ever bored of this view. In fact, with time I started loving it more.
Hyggesokker means woollen socks, and Hyggebukser is the pair of pants you love to wear.
Danes are obsessed with hygge and they use the word hygge almost in everything.
Things which are closely connected with Hygge.
Candles
According to the European Candle Association, Denmark burns more candles per head than anywhere in Europe. Danes light candles in homes every day during winter. I was amazed to see the way every shopping chain was stocked up with candles throughout the winter. The most interesting thing to notice was that none of these candles are scented candles. Do you know why? Because scented candles are considered artificial. A simple no no-nonsense unscented candle is what gives you comfort, and keeps you close to nature. There is nothing artificial about it.
Hygge food
Food which gives you comfort is hygge food. It's definitely not something very healthy. It has to be something which you would love to indulge in. Danes love cakes and I would be very happy to say that they really make awesome cakes. I had some of the best cakes in Copenhagen. It's difficult to express the feeling you get when you take a bite of Danish cake and it just melts in your mouth. It’s simply WOW and HYGGELIG.
Hygge cloths
Hygge is very closely associated with winters because winters are harsh in Denmark. It is windy, cold (sometimes freezing cold) and grey with no sun for most days and hours in days. The home feels the most comfortable, safe and cozy. A pair of warm woollen socks, a loose sweater, a warm cozy blanket — these are hygge clothes.
How can you do hygge?
Lit some candles, wear warm clothes and have some tasty cake.
It's not that simple. Just having a few things associated with Hygge will not be enough to experience Hygge because you need to create the right atmosphere for Hygge. You can’t do hygge as any other activity. You can’t be in a hurry or stressed out. You need to take a pause. Relax. You need to feel it. The feeling of comfort, coziness and security.
It is explained so well by Meik Wiking, CEO of The Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen :
“You cannot buy the right atmosphere or a sense of togetherness. You cannot hygge if you are in a hurry or stressed out, and the art of creating intimacy cannot be bought by anything but time, interest and engagement in the people around you.”
You can do Hygge alone or with family or with friends but there are some rules.
It's not hygge if it’s a big group, hygge is mostly done in smaller groups so that you can feel the intimacy, the closeness. Remember, it's about feeling and in big groups you can’t feel closeness, togetherness and intimacy.
Scrolling on a phone using social media or random content is not hygge. Because that doesn’t make you relax and feel comfortable or cozy. But watching some TV show or a movie together with friends is hygge. This movie should be something you all know about and allow you to be relaxed, and also talk in between.
Having arguments over political matters is not hygge. You can do it some other time but not when having hygge because arguments may make the atmosphere tense and won’t give you the comfort that hygge is for.
At the core, Hygge is about keeping things very simple.
You don’t have to throw things out or follow a book of rules to experience Hygge. You just need to give it time, relax and be comfortable.
“Hygge is about giving your responsible, stressed-out achiever adult a break. Relax.”
― Meik Wiking,
Are you ready for a Hyggelig Day?