So, during the month of September, I challenged myself to intentionally engage with “hygge” at least once a day, every day. I was curious about this Danish concept and what it actually looked like in practice, as well as what effect it may have on me in my life. I don’t know how well I succeeded at the “once a day, every day” part, but I did enjoy the challenge and am keen to continue exploring hygge.

So, what is “hygge”?

Hygge (pronounced “hoo-guh) is an untranslatable Danish word, not because it’s a difficult concept, but because we don’t have a word for it in our language.

Hygge House describes hygge as being a “a word used to acknowledge a special feeling or moment. It can be alone or with friends, at home or out, ordinary or extraordinary, but is always cozy, charming or special”. Later in that same post, she calls it “an art of creating intimacy”.

Interestingly, hygge and hug are probably related words. “Hug” comes from the Norwegian word “hugga”, which is the language “hygge”also comes from. My research, however, has yielded conflicting explanations as to how they are related. Still, this gives us an idea as to what “hygge” actually is, and the way I have come to think of the word reflects this:

Hygge encapsulates the feelings of warmth, comfort and security one gets from being hugged tightly by a loved one.

My Month of Hygge

I went into this knowing that I’m not very good with following a set schedule, I prefer (and need) the flexibility to assess what I am able to do and what I want to do. So, instead of assigning what I was supposed to do, I simply created a list of thirty different things to do over the month.

Sadly, due to the intensity of the flare I am currently experiencing, I was unable to do some of the things on my list. For instance, I really wanted to be able to go down to the river and feed the ducks (oats, not bread!) with a friend, but I was unable to do that. I do, however, hope to be able to do this sometime in the future. Other things I wanted to do but was unable to include: trying a new soup recipe and baking bread.

Some of the things I did were things I already do, I just decided to approach them more intentionally and with a hygge mindset. This was interesting and a lot of fun! These things included knitting, nail painting, playing card games with my family, making and drinking tea and listening to ASMR or music from Studio Ghibli Movies. Side note: most Studio Ghibli movies feel very hygge to me - comforting and cozy.

Other things that I did were completely new to me. For instance, I decided to start gardening. As hygge is also about connection, I decided to use gardening to connect more with nature. And I loved it - will definitely keep gardening. I have so much to learn!

I also put together a playlist of songs that set the mood, if you will. Songs that help evoke a sense of coziness and peace in me. You can find it here.

What I Learnt

I learnt quite a fair bit from my month of intentional hygge. For one thing, hygge isn’t really something that can be achieved on command. Instead, it seems to be connected to ritual and practice. In this instance, when I say “ritual” I don’t mean anything religious or solemn. I rather mean it in the sense of something being something that is done regularly and with intention.

As well as being about coziness and comfort, hygge seems to be about connection. Connection with oneself, ones environment and with ones friends and family. In this way, mindfulness seems to be an important part of hygge. Mindfulness, in general and in this instance, is simply about being present and aware. It is, one might even say, about being connected to the present, to oneself and to the people we are with.

Moving Forward

I fully intend to keep practicing hygge moving forward. I am enjoying the challenge of trying to figure out how I can set up my small piece of space to create a hygge environment, as well as the challenge of figuring out what hygge rituals I can begin to incorporate into my life movie forward. I fully expect tea drinking, music listening, candle burning and gardening to all be a part of it.

I also plan to do more digging and reading into the history and nature of hygge. Actually, I hope to learn more about Scandinavian cultures in general. I’m already on board with their philosophy that “there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes” and am keen to learn more about the Swedish fika.