Hygge: Finding cheer in simplicity

Art by Raha Ghoroghcian, Art Editor

Hygge (hyoo-guh), a staple characteristic of Danish and Scandinavian culture, is the quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality synonymous with the holiday season. 

The Danish word does not have a direct translation to English. Luckily, there are plenty of resources to make sense of it. Hugga, a sixteenth-century Norwegian term, means to comfort or console and is the derivative of the English word, hug. Danish author Meik Wiking discusses hygge in his work, The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well, summarizing the word with ten ideals: atmosphere, presence, pleasure, equality, gratitude, comfort, togetherness, harmony, truce and shelter. In a nutshell, hygge is a lifestyle that prioritizes simple pleasures and family to create a warm, content environment.

“Hygge has been called everything from 'the art of creating intimacy,' 'coziness of the soul,' and 'the absence of annoyance,' to 'taking pleasure from the presence of soothing things' [and] 'cozy togetherness’” Wiking said. 

Hygge became a mainstream term in Santa Monica and across the US in the winter of 2016 and was added to the Oxford English Dictionary a year later in early 2017. Cookbooks, lifestyle articles and other media of the sort can be accredited to hygge’s rise in popularity. People started to tag #hygge on Instagram posts of candles, fluffy socks and steaming hot chocolate. But sitting wrapped in a warm blanket and drinking a hot drink is as much holiday imagery as it is hygge. Hygge’s emphasis on family and social interaction seems to get lost in the American interpretation of the word. 

Denmark currently ranks #2 in the World Happiness Report’s Happiness Index. Their high ranking can be accredited to, of course, factors like faith in government, social mobility and high GDP per capita, but hygge factors in as well. It makes sense why a concept such as hygge would come out of a country like Denmark: in Nordic countries, winters are long and dark as most winter days in Scandinavia get dark before 4 PM. Wiking points out that, for many, hygge is a survival strategy. 

This belief may give an understanding as to why hygge blew up in the US around the winter of 2016. In the wake of a reality TV star and perpetrator of sexual assault winning the American presidency, people were left despondent. It can be speculated that in the same way Scandinavians use hygge to get away from their somber natural environment, Americans use it to get away from their depressing political environment. 

Although hygge became popular for sharing "cozy-core" social media posts of users' comforting environments, the lifestyle is about, most of all, family. Don’t let the aesthetic posts of hot cocoa and fluffy socks take away from the true meaning of the holidays. The fireplace is only as warm as the person sitting next to you. 

“Hygge is about an atmosphere and an experience, rather than about things. It is about being with the people we love," Wiking said. "A feeling of home. A feeling that we are safe, that we are shielded from the world and allow ourselves to let our guard down.” 

Have a hygge holiday season!