LET’S DO THE HYGGE:
How to add a feel-good factor to your life with this Danish lifestyle trend
move over, Abba, Lego and Ikea. The latest buzzword from Scandinavia is ‘hygge’, a Danish lifestyle trend that’s all about creating intimacy and cosiness at any given moment and appreciating the simple joys of life – curling up with a book in a sunny spot, meeting a friend for cake and coffee, doing some baking, or listening to raindrops on the roof.
In his bestseller, The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish
Way to Live Well, Meik Wiking writes that hygge is postponed during the year so people can indulge in it over the holidays. ‘Knowing that friends and family have worked hard in order to get together and not focus on work, money and all things profane is the meaning of hygge.’
Often referred to as the biggest lifestyle trend since Marie Kondo taught us the joys of living with less, hygge is now embraced beyond the borders of Denmark. Hygge coffee shops and bakeries are popping up everywhere from Jakarta to LA. In a quick amazon.co.uk search for books on this subject, an astonishing nine titles came up, all published in 2016, including Hygge: The Danish Art of
Happiness (Marie Tourell Søderberg),
and Keep Calm & Hygge: A Guide to The Danish Art of Simple & Cosy Living (Sofie Pedersen). The numerous articles and books on the subject have one thing in common, though: the authors find it difficult to come up with an
English equivalent for the term. Wiking, who is also the CEO of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen, reckons the Dutch word gezelligheid comes closest. In Afrikaans we have geselligheid, so perhaps we South Africans have been accidental hygge practitioners? Most hygge authors agree it’s not that simple: it’s the way the Danish embrace and appreciate hygge that makes this wellbeing concept unique to them. Many link it to the mindfulness trend of living in the moment. ‘Hygge is humble and slow. It is choosing rustic over new, simple over posh and ambience over excitement,’ Wiking writes.
CAN HYGGE MAKE YOU HAPPY?
‘One of the most consistent patterns in happiness research is how little difference money makes. There is nothing fancy, expensive or luxurious about a pair of ugly woollen hygge socks. . . Hygge can be tasted, heard, smelt, touched and seen. But most importantly, hygge is felt,’ says Wiking. This is why it can be linked to happiness. Wiking refers to hygge as ‘an
overlooked ingredient in the Danish recipe for happiness’. He has spent years studying this question, so he is probably right. Despite having 17-hour-long winter nights, lots of rain and one of the highest tax rates in the world, Denmark has been ranked number one three times in the UN’s annual World Happiness Reports.
A good work-life balance is one of the key components of hygge as a driver of happiness. The Danes don’t work long hours, which allows them to make time for family and friends – 78% of Danes socialise with friends, family or colleagues once a week.
Hobbies such as knitting, crochet and crafting with paper are definitely hygge pastimes as they allow us to relax and take a break from our daily routine. So add some hygge happiness to your winter entertaining in the form of crafts – take your time while making your own table decorations, party invitations, or the ultimate hygge accessory: candles.