High Fiving Hygge
No that’s too strong a word ….. there’s a new/old thing that has come into vogue. Much like mindfulness did a few years ago, this year or last year in Blighty it was Hygge and it is set to become all the rage here too.
Sooo what is Hygge, well ask the Danish, because that’s who “invented” it “Hygge (pronounced hue-gah) is a Danish word that is a feeling or mood that comes taking genuine pleasure in making ordinary, every day moments more meaningful, beautiful or special.” Thank you Hygge House a jolly website if ever I saw one!
You can imagine why they invented it poor chaps with all the long, dark, very chilly nights and why it’s really a sanity-saver. If you dig a little deeper you will find that not only the Danish have this concept. There’s the Dutch equivalent called GEZELLIG, there's Sweden’s version LAGOM, Norway with KOSELIG and then there’s GEMÜTLICHKEIT which is the German version and apparently the Welsh do it too with CWCTH – who knew and whilst I can totally understand the Scandanavian crew needing to do it, the Welsh and the Germans?
Joking aside, what a marvelous thing to have a word for!! We’re all about taking genuine pleasure in ordinary things, and whilst I will not hesitate to argue that SoffiaB robes are hardly ordinary. I will argue that simply putting on a beautiful dressing gown or robe that feels soft and comforting against one, can absolutuely help your mood, lighten your burden and raise your spirits.
We are acquisitive in the western world and something like Hygge reminds us how much pleasure, peace and comfort can be derived from the everyday, like taking a walk in the park or simply making a cup of tea in a bone china cup, with separate milk jug, a plate of biccys, napkin etc and suddenly your afternoon break becomes so much more.
Of course one doesn’t always have the time for this, but when it’s bitterly cold outside and dark and you think you might be going slightly gaga then it’s about making time. I have a number of friends who very much subscribe to the Hygge mentality and my sister always takes care with her nibbles and olives with her evening drinkie-poo – delightful!
The nice thing about the sanity savers of Hygge, Cwcth, Lagom etc is that it is much safer, and some would say more social than slugging back the vodka every night! And it typically costs little to nothing. Maybe it came to prominence this past year as a direct consequence of the upheaval occurring in many parts of our world. Perhaps people almost unconsciously began searching for a comfort mechanism. Whilst the scandanavians have been Hygge-ing for some centuries now suddenly us lower northern hemisphere lot, are desperate for a little security and grabbed it with both hands?
Like anything though there’s always those who take it one step further and I came across the Hygge hair trend for 2017, I really couldn’t see the difference between Hygge and Balayage but then what do I know?
Look Gorgeous, Feel Fabulous - SoffiaB