Let’s Hygge!

First thing is first, how do you pronounce H-Y-G-G-E? LOL I spent months mispronouncing it. It is pronounced Hoo-ga. hyg·ge /ˈh(y)o͞oɡə,ˈho͝oɡə/

Saying “Let’s Hygge” feels like I’m saying “Let’s Hug”, and can’t we all use a hug right about now? I know it is kind of cruel to talk about hugging when we aren’t able to hug others, only those in our household, immediate bubble. Hugging is at the top of my list of things I miss doing during the pandemic.

“You don’t spell it, you feel it.” – Winnie the Poo

So what does it mean? Well, in a nutshell hygge means “cozy”, but it is a bit more than that. The word, and lifestyle, comes from Denmark. In case you didn’t know Denmark has been voted the happiest place on earth to live many times. So the Danish are probably onto something here.

But let’s dive deeper. Hygge is a lifestyle, it is about being in the present moment, about togetherness, and focusing on what is most important in your life. If you want to go to the source, a great reference is the book, “The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living” by Meik Wiking. My copy is shown in the photo above. Mr. Wiking is also a high vibe follow on Intagram (@meikwiking).

It is hard to define the feeling of hygge, so this might be a good time for a quote from Mr. Wiking’s book.

“Hygge moments are the small everyday moments that make you happy. The best of them are bright and shining like stars. Having a word for it makes you aware that they are right in front of your eyes. Ready for you to collect.” – Meik Wiking

You might have caught the hygge wave a couple of years ago when it was trending and very popular. I’ve been in the hygge know for a long time, before it became popular. Why? Because one of my favorite words and state of being is “cozy”. It is for this reason and because hygge is also about mindfulness that it will be a running topic on this blog.

Fall and Winter are big hygge seasons, although hygge can be practiced all year and we will be getting into that. Here in the northern hemisphere fall and winter coincide with “the holidays”, you know the biggies, Halloween, Hanukkah, Christmas, New Years. These holidays are about togetherness and about light, another key element to hygge, light. Togetherness brings us back to the pandemic and quarantine life. Togetherness looks and feels very different now. And for those of us in the United States next up is Thanksgiving. It is already a controversial topic, and I will cut right through it and say that it is my hope that everyone stays home with only their immediate family/bubble. I understand that it is hard. We can do hard things and we all deserve to spend the next many Thanksgivings together, which I hope we can all do, together.

I hope you are not hygge-ed out, lol, from the word hygge being bandied about for the past few years. Because I want to talk about it and talk about how this simple concept and lifestyle can offer you and your home more peace. And again, couldn’t we all use more peace right about now?

Please comment below if you have any thoughts or questions about hygge. As always, I love hearing from you and I am sending you all a virtual hug.

xo,

Nicole