Creating Christmas Coziness

Midnight at the window

We did not enjoy a classic white Christmas this year, although a few flakes started falling during the morning church service, accumulating by evening to a light frosting on the grass.

However, we had plenty of Christmas cozy here without snow: a rich lasagna, fresh brioche bread, the aroma of homemade Dutch apple pie baking, a warm fire in the sun room stove and the ambiance of candles flickering everywhere we could find a safe spot. And there is a word for all that coziness: hygge.

Also, I think most of the gifts opened here and afar off could be classified under the words hygge or techy.

As far as I can determine the Danish hygge which has entered lately into the American vocabulary is pronounced with a hoo or hue beginning (but with an umlaut u sound) and an ending gah sound but not with an a but rather the schwa e. This helps me pronounce it correctly, I think! Non-Danish folks pronounce it in a wide variety of ways, including hig-ie--the worst!

However one says it, defining it seems to be the bigger challenge. I have some familiarity with the Dutch concept of gezellig, which also is not easily defined.

My NYC daughter has been trying to achieve a measure of hygge in her lovely but limited lower Manhattan apartment. For Christmas she sent me the book The Little Book of Hygge--Danish secrets to happy living, by Meik Wiking. I have always loved Danish (teak) furniture, but I'm not sure how much of the hygge lifestyle I have achieved or even aspired too. The Danes rank among the happiest people on earth, so it might be worth trying to discover why that is.

In the introduction to my new book the author attempts to explain hygge with these descriptions: "the art of creating intimacy," "coziness of the soul," "absence of annoyance," "taking pleasure from the presence of soothing things," "cozy togetherness," and the author's  personal favorite, "cocoa by candlelight".

So how much hygge did we create so far this Christmas--in addition to the food, the fire, the flickering candles and the freshly baked pie? Or is hygge something that just happens when you are not trying so hard for it? I'll have to read more of the book!

We did not sit around the fire in wool sweaters ... that is for sure. Or knitted woolen socks. Some of us are too itchy to enjoy wool--and furthermore, the fire was too warm. I did gift the husband with a pair of red cashmere socks. He is able to tolerate soft wool.

And we did not sip hot chocolate by candlelight--or coffee or tea.

I did gift two daughters with cozy L.L. Bean slippers, with arch support for added comfort. The third daughter received a blue cotton weighted blanket from Dream Hug, which seems like pure hygge to me!

I sent socks to the NYC son-in-law from BOMBAS, a company which claims to make the most comfortable socks ever. The socks come with a 100% happiness guarantee. They also give away a pair of socks to the homeless for every pair sold, so a little hygge for the homeless, too!

A cozy pink ponytail beanie hat is still in transit to NYC.

Comfy pants are in transit (slow boat from China?) for E.

The other son-in-law G. received some chocolate covered fruit, which may also have some hygge value … more perhaps if enjoyed while staring into the flames of his outdoor Florida firepit.

I gifted the husband with retired-man-recliner-wear: two cozy, generously sized and budget-priced (it is also important for hygge to be thrifty) sweatshirts. He received a nicer Columbian brand top from the Floridians--potential cruise wear? Also, the traditional Hershey bars, a new car scent for his Avalon and hand warmers for his golf gloves. More hygge, am I right?

There was a mystery box here which we opened last. Some kind of mistake or errant click? From K-Mart! It was a very soft, "superminky" burgundy robe (size 4-6!). I am going to keep it as a feel-y blanket. It is amazing! The most hygge thing of all!

The rest of the gifts were more techy: Bluetooth noise cancelling headphones for S. A Go-Pro type camera for G. A bluetooth speaker for my S9 smart phone, Nintendo and Super Nintendo consoles for E. I'm not sure the techy gifts have any hygge value. They likely have a negative value, as they tend to isolate. A board game would qualify.

The husband received a book. Snuggling up with a book and a blanket is very hygge, especially in a window seat. He also received a "conversation" game much like the one he had created years ago, a game which could arguably be hygge-promoting.

And then the kitchen-y gifts which are for achieving hygee in the heart(h) of the home--a frying pan set, a water filter pitcher and a gourmet coffee bean grinder (hot brewed coffee is definitely hygge-ish when consumed in a gezellig environment) for me, a Kitchen Aid mixer for E. and a cookbook for R. These are some of the gifts that come to mind. Plus, we all got salt and spice and other things nice from the Land of Fire and Ice.

Oh, and the New Yorkers got some kind of light from E. to combat SAD. Is that techy or hygge, both or neither?

The Florida dog got a cooling mat from E, which certainly seems non-hygge. Maybe a different kind of comfort word is needed for the cooling needs of hairy creatures residing in more tropical climes.

The evening ended with just the two of us and a movie from 2018 that was based on one of my favorite books, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society. Snuggled under my sherpa throw with that superminky robe brushing my (facial) cheeks, sipping from a (shared) crowler of Big Bad Baptist Quadruple Barrel Imperial Stout beer I had filled at Horrocks...

...it was totally hygge-gezelligheid!

The starring female character in the film was pretty and the male pig farmer star had some rugged hygge-handsomeness happening. (My Dad, among other things, was also a pig farmer.) It turns out he is Dutch, an actor and a musician, and even shares a birthday with me! (Except he is only 37.) My eyes were moist at the end, although it had a totally happy hygge ending!