What is Hygge?

Hygge (think h-you-guh, not who-guh) is a Danish word used to describe a feeling or moment, as cozy. The concept of cozy is unique to each person, but the general idea is a sense of warmth, comfort, and contentment.

You can’t buy hygge. Hygge is created. Hygge came from a land that suffered from bleak winters. Boring and isolating, winter in Denmark has a lot in common with quarantine everywhere else, which means the concept of hygge could be beneficial to everyone.

Hygge is not unique. Many cultures have similar concepts with distinct spins. When Denmark came to the forefront as the happiest country, everyone started looking to hygge as the reason why.

Designers and lifestyle gurus flocked to “hygge” as a trend and there has been a clear dilution of the concept as it becomes appropriated by non-Danish, non-Nordic people (like this blog) to present their own ideas and interpretations of hygge.

Fika, lagom, craic, lykke, ikigai, wabi sabi — these are all unique cultural concepts that foreigners can attempt to embody but will probably never truly capture.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash