Beating the Winter Blues with Hygge

I hate snow.  I hate being cold.  And until this year, I hated January.  After the festivities, spirit, lights, food, and celebrations of December, January feels like you’ve just been dumped when you thought the relationship was going pretty well.  All the happy, cozy feelings and good times get abruptly replaced by cold, snow, and dark.  So what changed my mind and my experience this year?  Hygge!

Hygge is a popular trend right now that I actually learned about through Pinterest!  As I’ve learned about hygge in recent weeks, I’ve found that the most consistent definition of hygge is that it can’t really be defined.  Here, though, is what I learned:

Hygge is pronounced “hue-guh” and is a feeling or concept.  It comes from a Danish word meaning “well-being.”  It {may also come from} an Old Norse term, hygga, which means “to comfort” and from an older word, hugr, meaning “mood.”  These words, too, may be related to “hug.”  Even as the logophile I am, I find it best to not try to define hygge, but to feel it.

The mood or feeling of hygge is a Danish and generally Scandinavian tradition of coziness of the soul, signified by comfort, warmth, togetherness, softness, simplicity, and contentment.  It is manifest in lights, candles, warm drinks, delightful food (and comfort food), good books, fireplaces, enjoying family and friends, and bringing nature inside.

I like to imagine that this feels like a great idea to me because of my Danish (and Swedish) heritage, but I’m confident it’s more simple than that.  As a pretty solid introvert, my first reaction to this was, “Oh, I can totally hygge–all winter long.”  It’s more than just cozying up with a good book under a fuzzy blanket with a cup of hot chocolate, though.  Hygge includes togetherness.  It’s that feeling I get when I’ve got cousins and aunts and uncles filling my house with conversation and laughter.  So as much as hygge invites cozy time for yourself, it also means relaxing with family and friends, enjoying and appreciating the warmth of connections and relationships.

My Experience with Seasonal Depression

From the age of 4, I grew up in Utah.  I essentially left the state after college.  That was enough to know I knew I hated snow and being cold.  After college, though, I stopped having “traditional” cold, snow-filled winters.  I lived in San Diego for almost a year as a {missionary} for my church, with a summer in Indiana and Florida for the same purpose.  After I got married, we lived in the Bay Area (CA) for almost a year while my husband attended graduate school at Stanford.  We then moved to a lovely town in Southwest Washington with very mild winters.  Snow every other year for 24 hours was just right for me!

I’ve always been a fan of holidays and celebrations.  I put up {seasonal decorations} around my house every month, many of which I make myself.  Whether it’s Valentine’s Day or Independence Day, it puts me in a festive and celebratory mood.  I really enjoy it.   Back when I lived in no-snow areas, January became a snowman theme.  I decorated with snowmen, snowflakes, and such.  Snow was fun because it was rare.

And then I moved to western New York.  I had no idea what I was getting into.  Winters there are not for the faint of heart.  I began to call it Narnia, and for good reason.  The months and months on end of cloud cover, endless dumpings of deep snow, monochrome days, and humid cold that no amount of layers could relieve began to crush me.  It was the first time I really understood what depression was and how it could truly be caused by simply what’s outside.

Our Natural Rhythm

Now that I live in one of the sunniest cities in the country (though it still snows and gets cold here sometimes), I can see with clearer eyes how many of us are tied to our environments.  There are people, of course, who aren’t as sensitive to such things.  My husband, for example, could live in a cave or on a tropical beach and pretty much feel the same day to day.  But there is something very real about the seasons and our natural state of being at different times of the year.

{Dina Tibbs} says that most things our society generally does in January is unnatural.  Winter is naturally a time of peaceful solitude.  The world is resting, asleep.  She suggests that the sudden changes of New Year’s Resolutions go against our natures which are still quiet because of the season.  She actually waits until spring to make resolutions, choose a word for the year, and set goals and intentions.  January to her is a peaceful time to be still.  It’s her time to fill her own cup.

This idea really speaks to me.  I’ve always hated New Year’s resolutions because it really does seem unnatural to me to all of a sudden make drastic changes during a time when I really just want to sleep more, wear fuzzy socks, and always have something warm to drink.  No wonder!

Going into January this year, I decided to throw out my old seasonal home decor as well as my focus.  (Why would I decorate with snowmen?!  I hate snow.)  I noticed this past December how much I love lights and candles.  They make me feel different.  They make me feel cozy and warm and comfortable.  I think that means they make me feel hygge.

I’ll tell you about the changes I made this month so you can get some ideas for what you might like for beating the winter blues.  Although not explicit, from what I can tell, hygge also seems to be a focus on self-care.  Isn’t that what well-being is?

• I bought some scented candles from my favorite company because they smell delicious and cozy.  My favorite scents this time of year are pomegranate and cranberry orange.
• I have spread greenery around my house.  I really love seeing something GREEN and LIVING every day, and that’s especially true in winter.  I have a brown thumb, but many stores sell forced bulbs like hyacinths or potted ones like tulips this time of year.  Many tropical plants like majesty palms make great house plants.
• I found some flameless candles on a timer!  I have spread these around my house as well.  When the sun goes down, the warm flicker comes on and gives a cozy, warm feel to my home.
• I pulled out cozy slippers and socks, have fuzzy blankets around, and soft throw rugs as well.  While these items can be used practically for warmth and comfort, the look and style of them speak “cozy,” too.
• I do not feel guilty for enjoying hot chocolate every day.  It’s hygge, and it makes me happy.
• I focus on simplicity by not making major changes right now and just being still.  I do have a word for the year, but it’s something I can keep in mind constantly, applying as needed.  My focus instead is on well-being and enjoying life.  I have blocked out a couple of full days in January marked simply “hygge.”  Maybe they’ll be reading, maybe they’ll be napping, maybe they’ll be preparing dinner for a casual gathering in my home.  Whatever they are will be about contentment and warmth.
• I think one of the coziest and most comfortable and happy ways to hygge is to {hygge with pictures}.  You can read more about how photos and memories are the essence of hygge and how to incorporate them into your hygge traditions right there at that link.

I think one of my favorite things about hygge is that there isn’t a recipe, there aren’t rules. Whatever speaks to me about hygge is probably what I need most.  Your hygge may look different than my hygge.  What would hygge look like to you?  Tell me in the comments below!

I love (which means I probably need) the focus on comfort and peace and warmth and coziness.  I think I may have just beat the winter blues once and for all!

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This post was originally published at www.livegrowgive.org on January 17, 2018, by Jennifer Wise.