Hygge & Warming Up to Winter
May 02, 2016
Now that Autumn is in full swing and the air is
getting crisp, the days cloudier, and evening walks require bundling up in
boots and coats, I have decided I must embrace this change of seasons.
It didn't come easily I have to admit, but what
changed things for me was hygge.
I have a friend who lived in tropical Hawaii but
was from the Northeast USA, and no, her name is not hygge …we'll get to hygge
in a minute, be patient! My friend loved Hawaii, but she desperately
missed true winters with snow, and icicles, and freezing temperatures that last
for months on end, and all that miserable stuff.
I do like the snow. It snows in Arizona from time
to time but it melts after an hour or two and doesn't take your fingers and
toes with it. If I wanted more of it, say to go sledding, I would drive a half
hour or so to the mountains and go sledding, then I’d drive back down to the
hospitable world afterwards (or hospital ward if needed). The idea of being snowed in or shoveling snow off your
driveway every morning sounds more than inconvenient, it sounds downright deadly to me!
I asked my friend once what on earth she could
possibly like about winter, and her reply was hot chocolate by the fireplace,
wrapping up in wooly blankets, toasting marshmallows, that sort of thing.
Now, I admit I am just slightly a teensy-weensy little bit of a pyromaniac, so
the cogs started turning and it almost
clicked in my head. Maybe there was
something to this winter obsession after all!
It was some time after that when I first heard
about the concept of hygge. Hygge (pronounced HYOO-gah) is a Danish word for a
cozy, warm ambience often with good food and company. There isn’t really an
English equivalent but it is basically a cozy, intimate environment.
Warming your toes by the fire while wrapped up in a
snuggly blanket with a mug of hot spiced apple cider in your hands, a warm pot of
soup and crusty buttered bread at the table, friends and family singing,
sharing stories, and laughing, candles and lights twinkling, the scent of cinnamon
lingering in the air, and a fire crackling in the stove - these are all hygge.
These are the things that would get the Danes through their blistering cold
winters, and in fact make them look forward to winter even!
Winter survival, I realized, is possible if I stop
pining for warmth on the outside and instead turn inward to find warmth and
light from within; and then share that warmth with others to light up the room like the night sky! It is a concept that finally resonates with me.
From now on, I will not complain about the coming
of winter, but look forward to the coziness and closeness that it brings to my
home. I will string lights (never mind that Christmas on this side of the world
is half a year away - in the Southern Hemisphere’s summer), I will throw cozy
blankets on the couch, I will cook hearty meals, and I will gather my
family to sing and call out the names of God who resides within the hearts of each and every one of us as the Paramatma (Holy Spirit). There is nothing more comforting and soothing to the soul.
I think I might just have a new favorite season!
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