Cosy versus Hyggelig

Being bilingual gives one some serious advantages in the language department but it also can cause some head scratching when trying to translate from one language to another. In Danish we have a word “hyggelig” which translates most nearly to cosy. However, as my family has tried to convey to our Canadian in-laws “hyggelig” has a further depth of meaning than cosy. For instance, one can say “let us “hygge” and to say it in English the best we can say is “let us be cosy”. But it means much more than just settling down with a cup of tea. To hygge is to get into a place in your being, where all your barriers are down and you are bonding with your companion in complete trust, safety and that word agape love. Danes of course go the extra mile in their method of hygge’ing because we love to set our coffee table with tealights, a bouquet of flowers, napkins, cup, saucer and plate and then the dainties of the repast be it sandwiches, buns or the famous pastries. But these outer trappings are just the icing on the atmosphere of hygge.

Yesterday I was out at John’s and Mom had set out her nisserman (Danish Christmas elves) about her living room and set out the candles which I lit and waited for nephew, mother and brothers to settle down for a good hygge. Christopher sat on the flower, looked at the lit candles and said “this is hyggelig”. For Christopher that is the space he loves because then he can immediately begin on one of his ghost stories, pulling out of his memory the tales Grandpa told when he was a mere tot of 2. We could smell the gingersnaps baking in the kitchen which added to the general air of making us hyggelig.

So the next time you are having one of your cozy afternoons or evenings with your family, think about what you are really experiencing because you are hygge’ing without knowing it!