‘Hygge’ Christmas
HAPPy Holidays! I am sure this December will be packed with parties with lots of fun and festive celebrations. Gift giving will be a norm. Family and friends will be happily eating and drinking together. But what does it really take to have a happy holiday season?
In a 2010 Harvard survey, happiness supposedly comes from three acts of “doing good”—when you do good for others, when you do things you are good at and when you do good things for yourself. The Happiness Research Institute says that “happiness levels are complicated results of social relationships, sense of purpose, genetics, age, employment status, absolute and relative income, social comparisons, self-esteem, aspirations, health status, autonomy, consumption pattern, civil status and time use—to name a few.” For quite some time now, various reports have indicated that Danes (people in Denmark) are the happiest people in the world. This holiday season, Filipinos can take the cue from the Danes to have a hygge celebration this December.
The word hygge (pronounced as Hoo Gah) comes from a Danish word meaning to give courage, comfort, joy. During winter, Danes keep themselves comfortable and cozy by way of light (candlelight or open fires) and warmth (hot drinks, wool socks). But in essence, hygge is about indulging in the small good things in life, some of which can be found in a small circle of quality friends. In a report, titled “The Happy Danes,” published by the Happiness Research Institute, “whenever we become more satisfied with our social relationships, our happiness increases.” I am blessed to have BFF and FFL in the Philippines and genuine friends in the United States who, after oh so many years, I managed to reconnect with during my sabbatical.
One of these friends is Ric Orbe. He migrated to New York during his teenage years, joined the US Marines and now lives in Houston for the past 30 years. I have not seen Ric since I finished elementary in 1978. When we got finally reconnected via Facebook, I had difficulty recalling any childhood experience with Ric. When he sent me a class photo, I finally remembered him, but not as Ric, but as Rusty. One of my closest friends in Claret School, Rustico “Rusty” Orbe practically served as my school bodyguard as he stood a head taller than me. Whenever I was harassed by others, Rusty will be there to ward these bullies away. As I was visiting relatives in Houston, I was given the chance to meet Rusty, now Ric. We spent one whole evening just talking about our mischievous ways (playing sipa/ burutan) and laughing at just about everything we did when we were in grade school. It felt good. We parted ways genuinely happy despite not being able to play golf.
Good relationships keep us happier. Rusty did a good thing for me by reestablishing our friendship. We can make others happy too by finding them, even if it will take more than 10 years as in the case of Rusty finding me. Happiness can come by simply cherishing our most important relationships, especially those from the distant past. One such relationship, perhaps for most of us, is what we have with our Creator. Due to the worldly challenges we face, we often lose sight of Him. We need to reestablish our connection with Him who’s always over us (God), around us (Jesus) and within us (Holy Spirit) no matter what we do in life. Those who have found God are simply happier than those who have not. In the Bible, Psalms 68:3 tells us, “But the righteous will be happy. They will rejoice when they see the face of God. They will shout because they are so happy!” I have yet to see a believer or a follower of Christ who is unhappy. We might have less than what others have but we can still find happiness in hygge, in the small blessings we receive from Him.
Preacher Charles Spurgeon once said, “It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.” Danes are not the richest people on Earth, but they are certainly one of the happiest due to how they value things in life that give them courage, comfort, and joy such as genuine relationships. Filipinos can be just as happy, especially when they share the little things in life this Holiday season—their relationship with family, friends and God. We can all have a hygge.