I recently discover a new word, Hygge, pronounced 'Hoyga' in my house. And what a discovery it has been! My partner came home from a day of glass-blowing (she is currently doing a Glass and Ceramics degree at the National Glass Centre) and announced that her Danish friend was going home to have a weekend of Hygge times. What was this Hygge time and was it legal? Well it transpires that Hygge is a Danish word describing the quality of cosiness; .the feeling of being warm, comfortable and safe. Think warm fluffy blankets, log burners and hot chocolate. Think candles burning, soft lighting and chocolate Florentines. You get the picture.
I am not a winter person. At all! I am the type of person that would happily hibernate at the end of September and wake up again at the beginning of March. In fact my Myers Briggs personality type is a bear and I can see why! But I am also not someone to dwell on the negative. I live a highly privileged, rich and blessed life and I am incredibly lucky to live in a country with freedom, wealth and opportunity (if anyone wants to argue this point then take a look at Ethiopia right now) and so it is not ok for me to spend 5 months of the year wishing it was the other 7.
So I have looked to the Danes who, I have reminded myself, live in far darker and far colder conditions than I do and I am going to town with the Hygge times! Saturday night, Sunday, Monday morning, it doesn't matter when it is, if it's cold and wet and dreary outside then we get warm, and cosy and comfortable inside and we're loving it!
I am sat writing this article with the wind howling down the dale (Swaledale to be precise), the rain lashing at the windows and the clouds covering any possibility of winter sunshine. And I am sat in my big comfortable arm chair, coffee to hand with the dogs asleep in front of the fire, candles burning and my feet feeling toasty warm in my big fluffy socks. So why not join us in embracing this season where Hygge times don't get any better.