The Danes have a word that's hard to translate, and no foreigner can hope to pronounce, but it's as Danish as pork roast and cold beer. It's hygge, and it goes far in illuminating the Danish soul.
The closest we can come phonetically is "hooga," if we try forming our mouths for "ee" while saying "oo." It doesn’t translate directly into any other language but we can illustrate it in action.
Gather the family and invite over a couple of good friends. Push the sofas and chairs up close to the coffee table. Douse the electricity and light some candles. Better yet, light a fire in the hearth. Serve plenty of food and drink. Raise a toast or two, or three, and feel the warmth flow around the table. Look at each other until you see the candlelight shimmering in each other’s eyes. You've got hygge! |
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Without knowing too much about this word or how it works, I am subconsciously finding myself wanting to place candles throughout my new apartment. Me, who really has never liked flowers, is suddenly buying flowers to add life to the place. I rarely turn on lights when it's dark out anymore. It's like "hygge" comes from within without you even realizing it.
I've always enjoyed having small dinner parties & having friends over. Now that I am in the process of making friends, I am starting to invite them over & in the process, voila...there's hygge. I sometimes stop to think about what effect Denmark will have on me & I think that I can safely say that no matter where I live next, Hygge is a concept that I hope to take with me.
Once the rest of my things arrive, I think it's time to kick this hygge thing into high gear...Can anyone else sense a game night coming on?
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