The article is spot on on many points, but i dont really agree that we need to plan ahead to see our friends. That is very different from one person to an other how they like to socialize.

Have a nice day and as we say in Denamrk “Glem ikke hyggen” If you want to know what it means, just go ahead and translate..

Thanks, Ulrik from DK

about ‘hygge’ – of course Danes are simply too culturally ethnocentric to realize that the concept that they presume to exemplify all things Danish is actually probably a fairly recent borrowing from their big-brother immediately to the south:
Gemütlichkeit (a kind of jovial cosiness),
Geborgenheit (snug security)
Innigkeit (an inner warmth, awareness of soul)
[the definitions I'm cribbing from a recent TLS review on German Christmas & its creepy Romantic origins]

but of course even if you told a Dane this, they’d simply choose not to hear it, because their cradle-to-grave ethnic-nationalist brainwashing has penetrated so deeply. Personaly the whole ‘hygge’ thing has always bored the bejeezuz out of me: the whole closed-circle-and-candle thing does indeed contain the essence of everything Danish within it: the cultural sterilitty, the intense fear of outsiders, and most importantly the absence of any form of conflict. Thus you can never ‘discuss’ politics or religion or anything large and potentially controversial. The ultimate bad form in Danish society. Conversation then is relegated to a conversation about what you – or someone else- ate for christmas dinner three years ago, or something equally soporific. Clearly a society that needs a little SHAKING UP, wouldn’t you say. And that’s what we foreigners are here for…..

Brazil : Jeitinho
Chile : Huevon
Argentina: Pelotudo/Boludo
Denmark : Hygge

etc….

The Dutch have a similar word for a quite similar concept: gezellig
Unfortunately we Brazilians don’t have any words to embrace that ideia.

Thanks for your summary of the Danish cultural phenomenon of “Hygge”.

I lived in Denmark for over eight years. I was fully embedded in their world…i.e. I was married to a Dane, worked for the Danish military as a civilian instructor, spoke Danish with everyone there with the exception of my husband and a few English speaking friends. I feel that during those years I was very familiar with the culture and their concept of “Hygge”. But still…the closest word I could ever use to describe the concept of “Hugge” to my American or European friends was to refer to it as making everything cozy”, but the word always seemed to fall short.

You made me smile with your description of the Danes own view of the concept of “Hygge” and their own belief that they are the only culture and nationality who have this type of social gathering and/or experience. However, in their defense the experience is unique to them or at least for them…and therefore it is very special and viewed as such.

I do agree with you that other cultures share in this type of social activity and many even to the same degree/intensity. But then again I have to argue that these other cultures may just not hold their form of “Hygge” so close to their hearts as the Danes do! : )

Thank you again for your description and review…I quite enjoyed reading what you had to say on the topic.

– Jules