Imagine it’s a late Friday evening in the last days of January. It’s been snowing for a few hours already, and the snowflakes are getting bigger and bigger.
You don’t have to go anywhere, and you don’t have to do anything. You are snuggling on the couch, reading your latest most-favorite book, and sipping some camomile tea.
The only light in the room comes from the floor lamp next to you. The only sound is the winter wind playing with the snowflakes and throwing them against the windows. You turn another page and snuggle even more. It’s warm. It’s cozy.
Now, imagine you are with your family around the kitchen table. You just had your dinner. The children are quiet (like never before) and happy with the delicious dessert they just had (like never, ever before).
Your loved one pours some more of the sparkling wine into your glass.
For a moment, everyone’s busy with their thoughts. It’s quiet. The only sound is the soft breathing of the people you love, the slow creaking of the wooden chairs you sit on, and the bubbles in the wine glass.
Did you imagine both of those? Did you imagine the feelings you’d get while experiencing those moments?
You just had a hygge moment, my dear! And this post is the introduction, hygge for beginners that will give you all you need to have more of those moments in your everyday life.
What is Hygge and Who Came Up With It?
What does hygge stand for? It’s a Danish thing!
No, seriously!
Hygge (pronounced hoo-ga) is a Danish word used to describe a cozy, comforting feeling one could experience alone with others. The word hygge doesn’t have a specific translation since it isn’t a thing or a place but rather a moment of contentment, calmness, peacefulness, coziness, quiet joy, and comfort.
Hygge is a huge part of Danish culture, and it is hard to say when it first appears. However, Danes are truly doing their best to create and experience as many hygge moments as possible. One theory suggests that the need for creating hygge moments comes from Denmark’s weather being cold and rainy for a big part of the year, and winter days usually end as early as 3 p.m.
It is believed that hygge is born out of the need to cope with the psychological challenges people face when sun and warmth are absent for an extended period of time.
On those dark, rainy, and windy days the only comfort one can experience is the comfort one creates for himself. This is how the hygge lifestyle slowly finds its way into people’s homes, minds and hearts.
Hygge Rules For Beginners | Hygge Elements
Can you put rules on feeling comfy, content, and happy?
It is hard to talk about rules with hygge since it’s a feeling you often experience almost accidentally. However, there are more than a few ways to enhance a simple hygge lifestyle and create hygge moments in your life.
The colors of hygge
Hygge colors are soft and gentle, just like the feeling itself. Nothing has the spotlight to be the accent of the moment, and everything compliments and contributes to having that calm hygge moment.
The most usual color palette used for creating a hygge moment is the neutral shades of grey, white, brown, blue, and pink.
The lighting is often said to be one of the crucial aspects of a hygge moment. Lighting is usually reduced and soft. Imagine cold and windy Denmark and imagine peeking through a Danish home. You would most likely see just a soft floor lamp that gives just enough light for the family to see each other while talking.
Fairy lights are often used to create a hygge vibe, add an accent to a dark corner in the room, or enhance a special spot in it.
Hygge touch
Wood and various soft fabric are often closely related to hygge. If you could imagine the comfiest and fluffiest throw that covers your legs while reading a book or sipping that camomile tea, you will know that this is hygge style.
The style that often reminds me of hygge is rustic, simple, and cozy furniture created for the comfort they give rather than the look they have.
Hygge Foods and drinks
Since food is one of the most referenced parts of being together, finding comfort, and experiencing happiness, it is logical to be closely related to hygge.
As far as my research went, there isn’t a specific rule regarding hygge comfort food, yet I will use your imagination again.
A hot curled steam from the soup your mom just did, a mixture of spices that fill the home and activate every receptor in your mouth with excitement and expectation; the warm, stretchy cheesy pizza you share with your sister, the huge mug with hot chocolate on a Christmas evening or the camomile tea bubbling in the teapot on the stove… Yes, all of those represent a hygge comfort moment and quickly go on the list of hygge elements.
Hygge sounds
Raindrops on a gloomy day, ocean waves, wind wrestling outside, or the quietness of the summer’s sunrise… All those are hygge-enhancing sounds.
Boiling pot with soup, writing pen on paper, or leafing through pages… yes, also hygge sounds.
Hygge clothes
When it comes to clothing, hygge promotes everything snuggly (it isn’t a surprise anymore to you, is it?). Since the hygge movement was born in the Nordic countries, it also comes with warm comfy, and casual clothes such as warm scarfs, hand-knitted sweaters, cardigans, and jumpers.
Just be careful with oversized clothes; as Meik Wiking says in his book, “…bulky, but never sloppy…”
Why is Hygge So Popular?
Well, if this is the first time you hear of hygge, you obviously don’t think it’s that popular. However, it’s been around for decades (in Denmark and the other Nordic countries), and for the last few years, it has also found its way around the world.
Hygge became popular because of the self-care and simple joy of the moment that it promoted. The hygge lifestyle promotes everything that soothes the soul, and tell me honestly, don’t you think this is precisely what the world needs right now?
We live in stressful times, and finding that inner peace and comfort in our days has become a need, a void in us that attracted hygge to spread worldwide.
Because the most attractive part of hygge isn’t the fluffy plush pillows nor the aesthetically pleasing pile of books on a rustic wooden table, these are all just elements that help for a moment to stick to our memories and to come back to them again and again – moments of peacefulness, inner and outer comfort, and being present.
Is Hygge a Lifestyle?
Many consider hygge a lifestyle, and I am not an expert enough to say if this is true. However, I understand where the concept comes from.
Hygge as a lifestyle is about searching for opportunities to have more of those special moments described above. That would probably mean getting a few cozy pillows, investing in a good book, and maybe actually going for the magnificent armchair you liked last year but never got enough courage to buy.
Hygge lifestyle would ask you to be mindful of when you could add an extra element to a corner in the house that would make it more homie and pleasant. It would mean you actually create your self-care bath experience and notice the aroma of the candles you bought from the shop two weekends ago.
So, yes, hygge could be a lifestyle if you focus on creating experiences that enrich your soul and make you mindful of how beautiful every moment could be.
How To Be Hygge at Home?
How to embrace hygge? Through adding more of what makes you happy around you. Is it a book you’ve only heard of but never got yourself? Is it comfort food with your loved ones? Is it a self-care routine?
Now, take those normal activities and add something extra to them – a candle with a gentle aroma next to you while enjoying the book, music that makes the dinner more special, or dimmed lights while pampering yourself… Now you have your hygge moment.
Hygge corner at home
The home is the most hygge-related place. The reason is that (as mentioned) Danish weather isn’t too enjoyable, and prices in restaurants are high, so people spend the majority of their free time at home.
One of the accents of hygge place is a nice chair – a big, comfy, and quality chair is almost a must-have when wishing to add hygge to your home. The chair usually gets placed on a special spot in the house called “hyggekrog” ( translated as “a nook”). This is a spot in the house where you can snuggle up and spend some time with yourself, enjoying that good book, sipping the camomile tea, or observing the world through your window.
That special spot usually has a few pillows added to it, the comfy throw we mentioned above, and a source of soft light such as a floor lamp or a simple bedside lamp.
Hygge fireplace
Ok, I could add that word to everything, and it has a different meaning. So, yes, I am talking about just a normal fireplace, considered one of the main elements of hygge moments of coziness and softness.
Cheat Sheet of 21 Most Popular Hygge Elements
Here are some more of the hygge elements that could make your home feel special:
- everything natural rustic, or vintage would enhance the experience – tables, baskets, vases
- candles are a great part of cozy moments since their light is soft and give mystical vibes.
- burning logs in the fireplace
- good book
- a warm bowl of soup
- freshly baked bread
- freshly brewed tea or coffee
- nice view through the window
- plants or dry flowers in a vase
- ceramic teapot
- cushions
- old vintage lamp
- chocolate (yay!)
- photo album with favorite photos
- favorite playlist with songs for every season or occasion
- soft, cozy socks/slippers
- warm clothes or clothes that are comfy and made of natural fabrics
- having wooden furniture
- less clutter
- decorating the home with pieces that have emotional value rather than following trends
- sharing a moment with yourself or with people you love and care about.
Hygge Outdoors
Probably one of the essential factors to experience hygge outdoors would be Nature.
Walking in Nature, and enjoying Nature’s elements (fresh air, woodlands, raindrops, ocean) is considered high-level hygge. I guess our inner urge to connect with the planet Earth and Mother Nature on a deeper level is what causes the hyggeligt moments.
Another important element is your company. Are you alone with yourself or with someone? Who are you with? Do you feel comfortable in their presence, connected to the conversation or the moment you experience together?
Emerge in every moment you spend outdoors, whether on a walk in the forest or enjoying hot chocolate in the local coffee place. Soak the aromas, feel the wind, and notice the clouds. Mindfulness? Yes!
Why Should You Love Hygge?
One of my favorite quotes from Meik Wiking’s book The Little Book of Hygge is the following:
“Hygge is humble and slow. It is choosing rustic over new, simple over posh, and ambiance over excitement.”
The Little Book of Hygge | the danish way to live well
And this quote maybe explains best why you should try and enjoy hygge in your life. Actually, you already experienced hygge moments; most likely, you just didn’t know what they were.
Fall in love with the little things such as a good book, a soft pillow, thick pajamas, a long movie, a bird’s song, a warm drink, someone’s gaze at you, someone’s hug…
If I have to summarise hygge, I would say it’s about falling in love with the little casual moments when life is still quiet and feels like home.
Best Hygge Books
The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking
“Denmark is often said to be the happiest country in the world. That’s down to one thing: hygge.” This is a quote from the back of the most popular book on Hygge, written by Mek Wiking, the CEO of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen.
His book The Little Book of Hygge, The Danish Ways To Live Well, has over 2 million copies sold worldwide. It is the ultimate introductory guide to hygge and my main inspiration for this post. If you’d like to have a deeper and better understanding of every aspect of the hygge lifestyle, this would be the book to start with.
Hygge: Unlock the Danish Art of Coziness and Happiness
This book would translate the Danish art hygge to practical readers. With actual tips and ideas on how to bring more hygge into your life, this book is the perfect resource when creating hygge western life.
The most interesting part of this book is when the author also digs more into the reasons why Danes are often rated as the happiest people in the world. She talks about their culture, their significant benefits from the government (in exchange for higher taxes), their work politics, and their mindset.
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Hygge For Beginners | How To Live Hygge Lifestyle
Blogger, dreamer, procrastinator, and lover of everything soul-touching. My mission is to make you laugh, provoke your thoughts, light up your day and inspire you to fall in love with life and yourself.
