The Definitive Guide to Hygge

Hygge is the pursuit of everyday happiness – it's about finding joy in the experience of each and every day. It's about finding an appreciation for the small things that add huge value to our lives.

This appreciation manifests itself in Danish culture because hygge is also about togetherness and sharing. While you can experience hygge by yourself, the Danes put a lot of emphasis on spending time in intimate groups. The core ideas are around well-being, coziness, warmth, safety, intimacy, and gratitude.

• Its earliest written roots go back to an old Norwegian word meaning “wellbeing” and date to the early 1800s. Other possible origins might be variants of the words “hug,” another old Norwegian term for “comfort” and another for “mood.”
• While most modern interpretations have settled on “coziness” as an appropriate translation, this not quite gets the point either.
• Hygge has been described in several ways: 'the art of being consciously cozy,' 'a hug without touching,' 'socializing for introverts,' 'cocoa by candlelight.' Anything annoying or invasive is the antithesis of "hygge."

You’ll need to make a conscious effort to create the right environment.

Feeling at home requires a homey place, so unless you create one, you’ll have a hard time getting into the right mood. It’s why the Danish are obsessed with candles, lighting and lamp design, and natural elements like wood in interior design.

Fun fact: At 6 kg or 13 lbs of candles burned per person per year, the Danes are Europe’s number one candlelight junkies. They also have almost 2 rooms per person in the living space.