HYGGE—“COCOA BY CANDLELIGHT”. I posted here on Thanksgiving two years ago about the Danish concept of hygge. I posted here a couple weeks later. These were the first two times I had encountered the word.
An article about hygge in the Economist (October 1, 2016) said that at least nine English language books would come out in the three months before the Christmas season “devoted to explaining the elusive quality of hygge”. The Economist gives some attempts by various writers to define it briefly: “the art of creating intimacyâ€, “cosiness of the soul†and “cocoa by candlelightâ€. The article points out that Danes are the biggest consumers of candles in Europe, using twice as many as the runnerup (Austria).
In my first post on hygge, I cited Russell McClendon’s comparison of hygge to “the feelings of thankfulness that Americans feel around Thanksgiving and Christmas”.
Merry Christmas to all!