A year of cocooning: ‘Hygge’ and ‘lagom’

The hype around hygge has been swirling for quite a while now. Pronounced HOO-gah, the Danish term means “a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being.” Oxford Dictionaries shortlisted hygge as one of their Words of the Year for 2016. In 2014, English celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall touched on the subject in his three-part miniseries Scandimania, which took a look at why Sweden, Denmark and Norway are consistently voted the happiest countries in the world. While all three Nordic countries share happiness boosters such as small populations and reap the advantages of a welfare state — from free education to subsidized child care, among others — what distinguishes Denmark is its quest for hygge. According to Visit Denmark, hygge means creating a warm atmosphere and enjoying the good things in life with good people. “The warm glow of candlelight is hygge. Friends and family – that’s hygge too. There’s nothing more hygge than sitting round a table, discussing the big and small things in life.” The New York Times calls it Denmark’s national manifesto, “an obsession expressed in the constant pursuit of homespun pleasures involving candlelight, fires, fuzzy knitted socks, porridge, coffee, cake and other people.” Jacob Gallagher, men’s fashion editor of The Wall Street Journal, recently posted on Twitter: “Hygge is the wabi-sabi of 2016 which was the sprezzatura of 2015.” While hygge finds its roots in Denmark — where winters are long and dark, and so the Danes fight the gloom and cold with candles and wool socks — its appeal is international, much like the ‘90s cocooning trend. In The Book of Hygge — the Danish Art of Living Well, author Louisa Thomsen Brits breaks the concept down into six areas: belonging, shelter, comfort, well-being, simplicity and observance. Whether you live in the tropics or in colder climates, hygge is ultimately about going home, building a cozy nook and staying there. Already another Scandinavian lifestyle trend is giving hygge serious competition. Lagom, a Swedish word which roughly translates to “just the right amount,” is thought to relate to being frugal, fair and creating balance. Elliot Stocks, creative director of British magazine Lagom, told Elle UK that while hygge is a temporary state of bliss, lagom is a way of life. “I think hygge captures a moment in time, whether that be a short break in the day or something you try and work into your life every day. Lagom is an overarching concept behind your life in general. Rather than fitting a bit of lagom into your day, it’s more about your approach to your life as a whole.”