The Danish recipe for happiness
It is pronounced “heurgha”, and we are going to be hearing a lot more about it: no fewer than nine books about the Danish concept of hygge are coming out this autumn, and it is being hailed as the biggest “wellness trend” since clean eating. But hygge requires no self-denial, said Maria Lally in The Daily Telegraph. On the contrary: it is about cherishing life’s small pleasures, and sharing them. In a country where the winters are long, dark and cold, that typically means putting on some warm socks, lighting a fire and hunkering down with friends over a pastry, or a glass of wine. Hygge – which is believed to share etymological roots with “hug” – may explain why the Danes are officially the happiest people in the world.
Hygge is often translated as “cosiness”, and with their sheepskins and artfully placed lamps, the Danes certainly know how to make their homes warm and inviting, said Sinead Moriarty in the Irish Independent. Candles are very hygge: a third of Danes light candles every day, and three-quarters once a week. At Christmas, hygge levels peak, and Copenhagen becomes magical in the candlelight. But hygge is not really about material things. The authors of the new books (which have titles such as The Little Book of Hygge and How to Hygge) talk about finding calmness and contentment through spending quality time with close family and friends, in a warm atmosphere – whether around a candlelit table, or on a beach. Of course, that is not a uniquely Danish notion. But what may be unique is the Danish preoccupation with making things relaxed and cosy: they talk about hygge all the time.
It can be quite prescriptive, said Richard Orange in The Observer. Woe betide the Dane who brings up politics – or anything controversial – and ruins the hyggelig mood. That’s the trouble, said Michael Booth in The Guardian. Hygge means always cleaving to the middle ground, and frankly, it gets a bit dull. Besides, there are other possible reasons the Danes are happy: they’re rich; they don’t work that much; and they take more antidepressants than most other countries. Danes are brilliant at making things cosy; “it is their superpower”. But I’m not sure that hygge is the secret of their contentment.