Why everyone’s talking about... Koselig
What’s this talk of ‘koselig’? Sounds like the name of an Ikea kitchen gadget…
It’s a Norwegian term, pronounced, approximately, koo-sheh-li (emphasis on the first syllable), that even Norwegians find hard to describe. ‘We can’t decide for ourselves what it means,’ one native says in an online video trying to explain it. ‘But when you have it, you know.’ Roughly, it’s a warm, inner feeling of cosiness, intimacy and happiness to get through the long winter nights.
So koselig is like the much-hyped hygge from a few years back?
Oh no, totally different. That was Danish. Otherwise, yep, pretty much the same. Although, confusingly, ‘hygge’ is a word for ‘comfort’ in Norwegian, too. And in Sweden it’s ‘ mysig’, so expect that to be the next reinvention of the lifestyle trend-setters.
All flickering candles, roaring fires, chunky jumpers and home-made comfort food in mountain cabins, yes?
Sure is. We need all we can get to help us with the Covid winter blues. So prepare the får i kål (mutton in cabbage, a Norwegian national dish), pepperkaker ( gingerbread biscuits) and gløgg (like mulled wine, but sweeter, with almonds and raisins in the mug) and invite your friends round (a maximum of six of you in total, of course). Companionship is crucial to koselig.
So the shops will soon be full of Scandinavian-style gift packs and bathroom products?
More than that, we’ll be invited to embrace a positive, celebratory mindset. Nor is the mood confined to indoors. It could involve huddling outside a cafe swathed in blankets and bundling up for a winter walk, since a connection with Mother Earth is all part of koselig. Certainly there are health and psychological benefits of being near rugged nature – the NHS in Scotland has prescribed rambling and bird-watching to help treat mental illness, heart disease and stress.
Does it work?
Norway has surprisingly low rates of seasonal depression, is the sixthrichest country per head, and is one of the five most contented nations on the planet, according to the World Happiness Report. So they must be doing something right. The equally chilly Finland, Denmark, Switzerland and Iceland complete the list. As the winter evenings draw in and clocks go back on October 25, we might learn a thing or two from the happy and snug Scandis. Skål!