Hygge Days Are Here Again

It’s a Danish word that has no precise comparative in English. Like umami, it’s a sense rather than a solid; one of those mysterious intangibles that everybody understands not by intellect, but by spirit.

Hygge (clumsily pronounced “hue-gah”) is defined as “a complete absence of anything annoying or emotionally overwhelming, and/or the act of taking pleasure from the presence of simple, soothing things.”

It’s the feeling you get in front of a fire, when the cold dark winter closes in and folks gather together for warmth and comfort. It’s the light of a single candle after everyone else goes to bed. The pleasure in a cup of hot chocolate spiked with Bailey’s. The joy in sharing a blanket on a snowy sleigh ride. The sound of jingle bells. The smell of cinnamon and cloves. Little kids laughing. Your favourite sweater. A hug from a friend. Exchanging smiles with a stranger. Coming in from the cold and scenting shortbread fresh from the oven. Listening to carols while looking at the Christmas tree.

It’s not exclusive to the winter, though it probably lends itself best to the time between fall and spring, and it’s not really about the components of circumstance, either. If I understand it correctly, it’s about how you feel. I suspect I feel it more when I am myself, not necessarily alone, but with my trusted posse, those who know me best and love me as I truly am. A feeling of belonging, of acceptance and connection; of oneness with something greater than the individual.

It feels good. It feels warm. It feels comforting and safe. It feels ... wonderful.

They say the Danes are the happiest people in the world. Hygge knew?