Hygge The Danish Way Of Coziness And Living Well

Money can't buy happiness says the Scandinavian and off they go to create their own happiness by living the hygge (hoo-ga) life. What is hygge? The easiest way to explain what hygge is to say it is all about being cozy by enjoying a hot drink with your friends, wrapped up in woolen blanket by the fireplace on a cold, dark winter day.

Meik Wiking from the happiness research institute, Copenhagen wrote a book, called The Little Book Of Hygge which I personally own and that book inspired me to write this article.

To get the feeling of hominess, coziness, warmth and togetherness, we need to understand some key factors here to make it work perfectly. When I say, I am cozy here with my drink, I may just mean, that I am sitting on my sofa and enjoying a cup of tea. There is a lot more to hygge and in this article, I gathered the main elements and key points to create the ideal environment for our perfect happiness.

Light

Most people would associate hygge with candles, which is not surprising, because Danes light more, than 5 candles every day in more, than one place in their homes. They call candles as "living lights". It is indispensable to light candles to enjoy hygge. With this activity, they are the leader in burning candles in the world. Each person in Denmark burns approximately six kilos of candle wax each year.

Lighting is one of the most favored thing in Denmark, but it is not all about candles. They have their own unique designed lamps. I suppose the reason, they are obsessed with lighting is, because they have the shortest daylight in winter. The natural light they can enjoy a day is about seven hours, when most people are at work. That is why Danes enjoy summer so much. It is short with about 180 days of rain per year, but summer is beautiful.

It doesn't cost money to light a room correctly, but it does require culture. From the age of eighteen, when I began to experiment with light, I have been searching for harmony in lighting. Human beings are like children. As soon as they get new toys, they throw away their culture and the orgy starts. The electric light gave the possibility of wallowing in light.

When, in the evening, from the top of a tram car, you look into all the homes on the first floor, you shudder at how dismal people's homes are. Furniture, style, carpets - everything in the home is unimportant, compared to the positioning of the lighting.

Poul Henningsen (1894-1967), 'On Light'

Togetherness

If I were to ask you to think about, when was the last time you felt happy, would your answer be I was alone or with others? I don't think happiness happens necessarily with family or friends. We can find our most wonderful moments when we are alone and let our minds clear in a cozy corner either in complete silence or with feel-good music in the background.

On the other hand according to Meik Wiking togetherness is the most important ingredient to happiness. When it comes to hygge, Danish people look for close friends to be with in their hyggelig times, because they are the ones, whom they can share their innermost thoughts and feelings with and they both give and receive support. The ideal number of people to enjoy hygge the most, is three or four.

Food and drink

When it comes to food and drink during hyggelig it must be sinful. The best part is to sin together. Sweets and hot beverages are vital when hyggelig. Again most people in Denmark associate hygge with cakes. The oldest confectionery shop in Denmark is La Glace which was established in 1870. I would mention two of their cakes, named after famous Danes Hans Christian Anderson and Karen Blixen they are lush. Their most popular cake is 'sport cake' rich in crashed nougat and whipped cream.

When there is an occasion of a child's birthday, then Kagemand is the most popular cake. It is basically a big shape of a boy or a girl. While most of us in the world singing happy birthday to a boy or a girl and then they blow the candles, Danish children cut the throat of the cake and other children scream, then they say happy birthday.

Also home made sweets and cakes often made for hygge.

Getting your hands dirty by baking at home is a hyggelig activity, that you can do by yourself or with friends and family. Few things contribute more to the hygge-factor, than the smell of freshly baked goods. - Extract from the book.

Although as I mentioned earlier, that most people associates hygge with candles, it only comes second. Hot drinks take the first place. While the nation's favorite hot drink is coffee, also other beverages can be found on the table such as tea, hot chocolate or mulled wine. Kaffehygge is a Danish compound word that is a link between hygge and coffee. They have a saying "Live life today, like there is no coffee tomorrow".

To practice a proper hygge afternoon or evening, you need your appropriate clothing and the perfect environment to get the feeling. The image as it follows. Create a cozy corner 'hyggekrog' in your home and put on your comfortable pair of pants 'hyggebukser', that you would never wear outside, your woolen socks and wrap yourself up in a blanket. Make sure you are in the good mood for hygge 'hyggehjornet'. Make your favorite hot drink and you are ready to feel happiness.

Home

An ideal home environment for hygge is lots of simple wooden furniture, such as bed, table, chairs and Danes tend to bring the nature in. The more green from outside the better.

So here it is now you know how to feel happy in a Danish way you can create your own hyggekrog and put your favorite hyggebukser on call your close friend for a kaffehygge and when you are all in the hyggehjornet, then you are all enjoying the Danish way of happiness and living well.

If you are interested and want to find out even more about hygge I recommend the book I mentioned earlier.