Why Are the Danish so Happy? Part 1: Hygge

There’s a Danish word I recently learned called “Hygge.” It’s essentially the art of curling up in a blanket, sipping on a cup of coffee, and reading a book on the couch.

At least that’s my idea of it. Underneath it all, it encapsolates the feelings associated with being very comfortable and exisiting in the moment. This sensation can be felt throughout the entire city. It’s like a nice warm blanket keeping you safe from the cold and rainy weather.

There are cafés on every corner, with warm and inviting atmospheres, books littered all over the walls, and people sitting down and slowly enjoying their coffees. The architecture is friendly and inviting. And despite the cold, it is quite pleasant to walk around and admire the city.

I actually wrote a poem a few months ago about this feeling before I even knew there was a word that attempted to describe it. (Alone in a Café).

It’s amazing how there are certain words in other languages that perfectly describe universal ideas. And if you don’t speak the language, or in the least, don’t know the word, you’ll never realize just how common these ideas are.

Perhaps when we give names to these sensations and ideas, they become more tangible. And the more tangible they are, the more powerful they become. If every Dane knows hygge, they can start constructing an entire society around this idea.

Maybe this is why the words we choose and use regularly are important. They have the power to inform the way we think and interact with the world around us. Perhaps giving names to words like “Hygge” allows them to seep into the fabric of the culture.

This could be one reason why Denmark has consistently been named one of the happiest countries in the world. Because they’ve constructed their own idea of happiness into their environment, they’re able to feel it on a consistent basis. Perhaps their idea of happiness could be replicated in other areas of the world.

But this is likely far from the complete picture. Happiness is a bit of an enigma. Because feelings are subjective, is it really possible to have a strict definition of happiness? And from this, does every culture define happiness the same way?