Getting "Hygge" With It

I'm surrounded by soft, glowing candles while enjoying a glass of rich red wine and a box of decadent dark chocolate to the soulful intonations of Bon Iver as the soundtrack to my evening. My laptop screen — usually buzzing with the e-noise of Facebook, blogs, and various assignments — is dimmed low, a virtual fireplace crackling as my screensaver. 

No, I don't have a date tonight. I'm not trying to set the scene for a seduction. What I am trying to do is make spending an average night in more "hygge". While I admit the fake fireplace may be overkill, the Danish concept of hygge requires taking relaxation and comfort very seriously.

Hygge is the new lifestyle trend slowly trickling from Denmark into the rest of Europe. But what is it exactly? And how is a university student expected to live hygge in Paris, a city that doesn't exactly evoke natural warmth and comfort?

Pronounced “hoogah” (which I like to think sounds like the word hug, instead of the sound you make when you sneeze), the hygge lifestyle is gaining traction as the secret behind Denmark's reign as the Happiest Country in the World. In English, the term roughly translates as "cozy".

Helen Russell, author of The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country, describes hygge as a Danish understanding that "having a relaxed, cozy time with friends and family, often with coffee, cake or beer, can be good for the soul". Hygge is less dieting and juice cleanses, more chocolate and wine. Less smartphones and harried movement, more kicking back with friends and relaxing.

According to Louisa Thomsen, author of The Book of Hygge, the definition of "coziness" is far too simplistic to properly extol the virtues of the movement. Thomsen says hygge is something that you actually feel. "It is belonging and warmth," she notes. "A moment of comfort and contentment".

So, lighting a candle at your desk as you work on that essay? Very hygge. Lingering in a cozy coffee shop to connect with an old friend? Quite hygge. Working on your essay in the cramped chairs and florescent lighting of the library? Not very hygge. Lining up at Starbucks and getting passive aggressive when the person in front of you doesn't have their order prepared? Sorry, not hygge.

Image credit: Love Hygge, Tumblr

I can't blame you for thinking that this is a bunch of bourgeois nonsense. Does putting on a pair of woolly socks really classify as a "lifestyle" choice? But it's important to note that hygge offers Danes necessary reprieve from long, harsh winters. As a Canadian, I can relate to this sentiment. I'm used to putting on a parka and braving the cold, whipping wind. As a new Parisian, I've become accustomed to an umbrella as an accessory that's as important as my purse when leaving the house in the morning. In contrast, there's something self-indulgently delightful in the Danes' refusal to battle the elements with the rest of us, choosing instead to retreat into the contentment of hygge. 

Why not stay home, wrapped up in a blanket burrito, when we hear freezing rain violently rapping against the window? Considering that North Americans feel their lives are busier than ever, the Danish focus on self-care and finding joy in simplicity is understandably an intoxicating notion to those of us from over-stimulated cultures.

Image credit: Love Hygge, Tumblr

So, how can a student achieve this blissful state of hygge? Because this lifestyle is still a little abstract in theory, here's a list of small, attainable steps you can take to help mitigate the inevitable winter blues.

1. Make like a Tumblr girl and buy some twinkling lights.

There are many things in this life that are overrated. Twinkly lights are not one of them.

2. Make like a little kid and drink some decadent hot chocolate. 

I have a (highly unscientific) theory that drinking good quality hot chocolate gives you the same amount of endorphins as going on a run.

3. Make like a person who was alive five years ago and read an actual book.

Why not make it a book about hygge?

4. Make like a Parisian and drink some wine.

Any wine will do, but I prefer red for its warming effect. Also, red = Christmas. It's just simple math really. 

5. Make like a fashion blogger / your outlandish Aunt and buy a scented candle / some incense. 

There's a reason the explore page on Instagram occasionally resembles a Bed Bath and Beyond aisle. Candles are in (and were they really ever out, for that matter?). 

6. Make like any person who has ever liked anything ever and get some cozy socks.

Liking cozy socks is as universal as liking puppies. On that note, owning a puppy also seems very hygge. So yeah, go buy a puppy too, and then let me dog sit.

That would be very hygge of you.

Image credit: Tumblr