All About The Hygge

I am a nester. I think it is every introvert’s second nature, the first being of course to be left alone whenever an introvert so desires. I think this is the reason why my home is a very private place for me. It is my sanctuary. It is a reflection of who I am. I do not lightly invite anyone into my home and if you have been invited into my home, then you know you have secured a cosy corner in my heart.

Anyway, imagine my delight when I came across a book which was solely dedicated to hominess and the art of peaceful living. Well actually this book has been out for a while now but due to my ever-expanding reading list I only just managed to get it for myself. A little early Christmas present!

This art of peaceful living is called hygge (pronounced ‘hoo-ga’) in Danish. According to the author, “…hygge has been called everything from the ‘art of creating intimacy’, ‘cosiness of the soul’ and ‘the absence of annoyance’ to ‘taking pleasures from the presence of soothing things’, ‘cosy togetherness’ and, my personal favourite, ‘cocoa by candlelight’. Hygge is about an atmosphere and an experience, rather than about things. It is about being with the people we love. A feeling of home. A feeling that we are safe, that we are shielded from the world and allow ourselves to let our guards down. You may be having an endless conversation about the small or big things in life – or just be comfortable in each other’s silent company – or simply just be by yourself enjoying a cup of tea.”

So, what is hygge for you?

For me, it is reading to Arjun and playing with him, or simply just watching him play, losing myself in that goofy smile on his little countenance.

Hygge to me is also my home, with its most common inhabitants being our books – oh what a wonderful feeling it is to be surrounded by books… it is most definitely a hyggelig experience! The author seems to agree: “Who does not like a shelf filled with thick books? Taking a break with a good book is a cornerstone in the concept of hygge. The genre does not matter – romance, sci-fi, cookbooks or even horror stories, are welcome on the shelves. All books are hyggelig, but classics written by Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Leo Tolstoy and Charles Dickens have a special place on the bookshelf. At the right age your kids may also love to cuddle up with you in the hyggerkrog and have you read to them. Probably not Tolstoy, though.”

Around this time of the year, hygge is also Christmas lights.

Of course, the smell of freshly baked cookies that linger and the taste of your very own oatmeal raisin cookies must rank pretty high on the list of all things hygge.

Most importantly, hygge is in all the little moments that I share with my loved ones and the moments I get to myself: to read, to write, to photograph, to create art, to cook, to bake, to introspect and to just be.

I have always been protective of my personal space and that extends to my home and my family. I think that is the one thing that inspires me most. As Virginia Woolf said in ‘A Room of One’s Own’: “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write.”

Wishing everyone a hyggelig Christmas and New Year!