Thursday, January 9, 2014

Weekend Happenings: Hygge

This isn't your usual Weekend Happenings post where I tell you what's going on in or around the Twin Cities and give you details about times and cost.  No, I'm giving you a completely different alternative this weekend and challenge you to try it.  Who knows, maybe you'll like it so much that you'll try to practice it all winter long.



What is this mysterious thing, you may ask?  It's a concept, really.  It's called hygge, a Danish word for which we really don't have an English counterpart.  But we should.  And as Minnesotans who definitely have a scandinavian lineage, we should all know the word and work to practice it.



Hygge means, coziness, slowing down, spending time with friends in front of a cozy fire, warmth, hot cocoa, snuggling, unplugging, laughing, chatting, putting down your everyday "to do" list, listening, cocooning. See what I mean?  Hard to describe with just one word.




I recently read this article by Jim Walsh on the MinnPost blog called Our Hygge moment: How a Danish cultural concept can help cut through the dark Minnesota winter.  It gives a really good idea of what hygge is all about.




The idea is to embrace this dark and cold time of the year by hunkering down with family and friends, communing, being cozy.  It's a way to celebrate the winter rather than dreading it or just merely enduring it.



I know that this weekend, it will actually be pretty warm and you will likely want to get outside for some outdoor activities.  But when you come back in, which you will have to do at some point, why not embrace the practice of hygge and continue to do so throughout the winter.  Who knows.  Maybe someday you'll come to enjoy our coldest, darkest days of the year!



Source:  Michelle Schwake for Stafford Family Realtors

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