Hygge in Nature

What is Danish Hygge?

In 2017, the Danish term hygge was added to the Oxford English Dictionary. But what exactly is hygge?

Hard to pronounce, hygge ("hooga") is difficult to explain, too. In brief, hygge is about taking time away from the daily rush to be together with people you care about - or even by yourself - to relax and enjoy life's quieter pleasures. The word hygge dates back to around 1800, at least in its meaning today. However, various definitions of hygge can be traced back to the Middle Ages, where a similar Old Norse word meant "protected from the outside world.”

Hygge is often about spending informal time together with family or close friends. Typically, the setting is at home, another quiet location, or perhaps a picnic during the summer months. There is no agenda. You celebrate the small joys of life or maybe discuss deeper topics. It is an opportunity to unwind and take things slow.

Like many of the best things from Scandinavia, hygge might seem, to some Americans, to come with a whiff of smugness. The term is often mentioned in the same paragraph that reminds us that Danes (or, depending on the year, Norwegians and Swedes) are the happiest people in the world.

Winter is the most hygge time of year

“The sidewalks are filled with smiling, hyggelige people, who keep lifting their hats to each other and who look at a stranger with an expression that indicates they wish they knew him well enough to lift their hats to him, too.”

It is candles, nubby woolens, shearling slippers, woven textiles, pastries, blond wood, sheepskin rugs, lattes with milk-foam hearts, and a warm fireplace. Hygge can be used as a noun, adjective, verb, or compound noun, like hyggebukser, otherwise known as that shlubby pair of pants you would never wear in public but secretly treasure. Hygge can be found in a bakery and in the dry heat of a sauna in winter, surrounded by your naked neighbors. It’s wholesome and nourishing, like porridge; Danish doctors recommend “tea and hygge” as a cure for the common cold. It’s possible to hygge alone, wrapped in a flannel blanket with a cup of tea, but the true expression of hygge is joining with loved ones in a relaxed and intimate atmosphere.

After a hike in the snow, the friends sat around the fireplace wearing sweaters and woolen socks, listening to the crackle of the fire, and enjoying mulled wine. One of his friends asked, “Could this be any more hygge?” Everyone nodded when one woman replied, “Yes, if a storm were raging outside.”

How do Hygge your outdoor life?

Hygge is a sensory-driven experience. You should taste it, smell it, feel it—even be it.

“What's fun about outdoor spaces is that you can have fun with layering and get cozy at night with blankets and layer patterns, which we really love to do,” Ziemer says. Blankets, floor cushions, and throw pillows make for easy seating options and create a nesting atmosphere, especially in front of the fire.

but hygge isn’t solely about candles and blankets; it's about experiences as well. My sister set up an outdoor movie theater for her family. “It was really nice to just lay on the couch outside last night and watch a comedy special,” she told me. “Laughter is great medicine.” The same night, I created an outdoor living room, we ordered takeout from our favorite taco shop, picked up a few IPAs at our corner store, and had Connect 4 ready to go once dinner was done.

Hygge only requires consciousness, a certain slowness, and the ability not just to be present – to recognize and enjoy the present. That’s why so many people distill ‘hygge’ down to being a 'feeling'—because if you don’t feel hygge, you probably aren’t using the word right.