Hygge on a snowy day

“Hard to explain and even harder to pronounce, the Danish word ‘hygge’ (pronounced ‘hooga’) translates roughly to ‘cosiness’. It may be hard to say, but that hasn’t stopped people finding out that hygge might be a recipe for a happier life. Oxford Dictionaries even shortlisted hygge as one of their Words of the Year 2016!

In essence, 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. Perhaps hygge explains why the Danes are the happiest people in the world?”

Source: http://www.visitdenmark.com/hygge

I am not Danish; I do not live in a place

Where darkness extends for endless days-

Yet when winter displayed its brutal force

And snowstorms conspired to confine me indoors

Cabin fever threatened to prevail

Daily life appeared oppressive and stale

I stumbled upon this concept new to me

That the Danes practice extensively-

Hygge, a word I can barely pronounce

 

Spelt much differently from the way it sounds

On being introduced to this Danish  quality

Of “coziness and comfortable conviviality”

“Eureka,” I cried, this was the missing piece

To conquer seasonal affective disorder with ease

 

So I warmed to the concept in a way

Quite bourgeois, I am slightly embarrassed to say

Lighting scented candles, spreading around me

Cozy blankets, warm mugs of gourmet coffee

(You get the picture- the trappings typical

Of enjoying cold weather in magazine articles)

But  doing this, though helpful, did not eliminate

My claustrophobic and mildly depressed state

 

On yet another day when we were snowed in

Sitting near the fireplace with a blanket, sipping

Hot, aromatic ginger-cardamom tea

Watching together an uplifting movie

My son huddled close, hugging me with affection

I thought the scenario was close to perfection

And then I realized, this was hygge in its spirit true

My house now had  hyggelig vibes too..

A warm atmosphere, sharing love and laughter

With loved ones and friends, the people who matter

They can fill the longest of cold nights

With cheerfulness, optimism and pure delight

This is hygge that keeps Denmark the winner

As the happiest nation on earth despite the dark winter!