It’s time for Christmas ‘Hygge’ by L.L. Thomsen
Yes! It’s that time of year again.
world and the coming of tomorrow. You can be alone or with friends and/ For me, born and raised in Denmark or family, it doesn’t matter. See, the but now resident in the UK, there is no number of people is irrelevant because excuse like Christmas to re-connect with it’s all about evoking that feeling of my roots and take a stroll down memory contented intimacy with the present. It’s lane with some favourite activities that about somehow simplifying your life for are specifically linked to my memories of a few hours in a way that allows you to ‘home’. enjoy that bit of selfish ‘me’ or ‘us’ time without guilt. It’s not that I do not feel perfectly at home in the UK, because I do, but for those of us who have upped roots and moved a fair distance from where we were brought up, there are still certain things that are hard to leave behind and for me, one of these things is the definite (and apparently very unique) Scandinavian concept of ‘Hygge’.
Yet ‘Hygge’ would not be ‘Hygge’ without food and drink. It cannot be helped – it’s crucial to the concept and without it you cannot achieve the right sense of nesting and belonging. It’s just the way it is.
Now until recently, this idea was seemingly unheard of across most other countries, including the UK and US, but I’m pretty sure that most people now have a fair inkling as to what it entails. However, if it still baffles you, allow me offer you my own simple thoughts on the matter. ‘Hygge’ is somehow both a feeling and an activity. Yet simply put, it’s essentially a term us ‘Scandies’ use when we need to kick back and deliberately embrace the urge to get cosy - usually without any added ceremony involved.
I wonder if this has come about from the notion of simply enjoying what you have when you can? Or perhaps it’s come about from the urge of making the most of the Scandinavian seasons where the winters are long and dark, and the need to burrow down behind shutters and locked doors lingers until the summer days come along once more and people feel encouraged by the light to celebrate its return - but in truth I do not know.
It’s the ‘put your feet up and snuggle down with hot coco and biscuits on a windy afternoon’ kind-of-thing, or it’s the ‘put your PJs on immediately after a long day at work, then open some wine, eat a pizza, and binge-read your favourite What I do know, however, is that there is simply nothing quite like a ‘taster’ book in utter disregard of the outside to invoke understanding, so if you feel - 38 -
