What does Hygge mean? / American in Denmark / Expat Life in Denmark

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  • Опубликовано: 23 авг 2024

Комментарии • 113

  • @Zandain
    @Zandain 3 года назад +11

    Hygge for me, is being content 😊
    Feeling cozy - calm - relaxing in your own company - enjoying yourself in the company of others - atmospheric hygge w. candles, fireplace, food, drink
    but in general, it's being content, not wanting for more (at that specific moment, in time) 💕

  • @henrikvinding3411
    @henrikvinding3411 3 года назад +4

    What is hygge?
    As a Dane I have been asked this question more than once. The term is hard to answer to a none Dane. I have always tried to answer it by using cocinas as a keyword. However I always failed a little bit. It's like trying to explain Green to someone who doesn't know all the different shades of green.
    However now I know how to explain hygge to someone else. I will simply show them this video. You are so spot on.
    Thank you very much.

  • @TainDK
    @TainDK 3 года назад +2

    when i was young - my brother (6 years older then me) had a best friend living across from us and our two families connected so well that i considered the family across as a second family. The "Hyggeligste" (most cosy?) times i remember are with them - when BBQing, turned into playing darts during the summer on either terrace (we both had darts) and the adults had a beer or 3 or something else (coke and rom) and we had sodas (something we as kids rarely had otherwise) - just enjoyment of the company of each other. Sometimes it turned into a game of Trivial pursuit too and went way into the night - when i got older I was able to be part of it all, while i was younger i could fall asleep with my window open, listening to the adults talking on the terrace (a great way to fall asleep as you could hear them but not quite get what they said - so a nice safe feeling with that background noise). Thank you for rekindling some nice memories here =)

    • @TainDK
      @TainDK 3 года назад +1

      Ofc we would always mock each other during the games, but it was always a friendly mocking and everyone could handle it with a laugh - like underhanded compliments "wow you got a triple 20, the best score in the game - so sad that what you needed was a double ;-) ;-) - oh well my turn, and let me show you how to win" - and then he/she would set herself up for flack if he/she did not win etc. - Friendly and fun mocking - and we always had a laugh =)

    • @indaadams9912
      @indaadams9912 3 года назад +1

      I love your memory of falling asleep while being lulled with the distant voices relaxed chatting outside.. I can just feel the safety and security you must have felt in this experience..

  • @thoso1973
    @thoso1973 3 года назад +3

    'Hygge' is imo best explained as a state of mind. :)

  • @vxlley_flower5672
    @vxlley_flower5672 3 года назад +7

    My idea of Hygge would be in a warm cabin as it snows, curled up with my dog, drinking hot coco, and watching the fire!🥰

  • @MrDslacker
    @MrDslacker 3 года назад +1

    A defining characteristic of "hygge" to me, is the lack of competition, the absence of the need to win and wanting to put others down if it involves more than yourself.

  • @muhest
    @muhest 3 года назад +19

    You do know what “hygge” is. From viewing this video, it’s clear you have a firm grasp on the concept. But like everyone else ... you have a hard time putting it into words. 😂 Don’t get me wrong. I think you’re doing great ... but like me (or anybody else I guess) it’s like the explanations is not quite adequate to describe the “feeling” of hygge.
    Wierd ... we know what it is but can’t quite describe it. But we know it when we “do” it. 😂

    • @MyNewDanishLife
      @MyNewDanishLife  3 года назад +4

      Very true.

    • @ronniesullivan9567
      @ronniesullivan9567 3 года назад

      I know I am kind of off topic but do anybody know of a good place to watch new movies online ?

    • @urielbrayan5963
      @urielbrayan5963 3 года назад

      @Ronnie Sullivan lately I have been using FlixZone. You can find it on google =)

  • @familien_rohde
    @familien_rohde 3 года назад +5

    When my daughter and I are doing crafty things, we enjoy each others company. also when we watch something in the TV together and eating sweets. That's my view on hygge.

  • @Nubianette
    @Nubianette 3 года назад +1

    Hygge is why I’ve been to Denmark, mainly Copenhagen 8 times. It’s a great mental health break. I 1st went for the Mikkeller Beer Celebration, but it was so comfortable to be there, even as an African(mostly)-American woman. Especially as a woman! To see people having picnics outside, and chill’n everywhere, especially when the sun is out, is a beautiful thing. There’s a lot of organization that prepares for that, to make that possible. So, people work hard, then enjoy their time off. If you fit within this framework, life is pretty great, but they would just see it as fine. I even enjoyed a cold week in January. The candles I would see all day, everyday during my spring visits, were especially cozy, and pretty at that time. I also feel it in Iceland and Norway as well. Friendly people make a difference.

    • @MyNewDanishLife
      @MyNewDanishLife  3 года назад

      Definitely a different atmosphere! :)

    • @jakobraahauge7299
      @jakobraahauge7299 3 года назад +1

      Wow! You really describe it beautifully and really get to essence of hygge!
      I can add that as a verb it's reflexive - to hygge yourself, just like enjoying yourself 😄 it's a really lovely part of hygge - just making and taking room to make yourself and those you're with feeling comfy, happy, cozy, chill, and all that lovely jazz! 😄
      Definitely sounds like you're one I'd find it very hyggeligt to bump into in some chill spot in Copenhagen! 😄 👍🏼

    • @Nubianette
      @Nubianette 3 года назад +1

      @@jakobraahauge7299 it helps when you get to hang out with Danish people. Funny, one I met in Iceland. 2022! 🤞🏾🤞🏾

    • @jakobraahauge7299
      @jakobraahauge7299 3 года назад +1

      @@Nubianette 😙👌🏼

  • @sorensanderskov
    @sorensanderskov 3 года назад +2

    Hygge is the state of mind - very, very close to actual unplanned quality time - being in balance alone or together. You. Kelly, give a perfect picture!
    It's like if "having a good time" ment just that. And not "fun" and "party".
    Forget the hype - we've had hygge all over the world looooong before it was marketed as "Danish".
    The difference is: In Denmark hygge is a goal for being - and being together.

    • @jakobraahauge7299
      @jakobraahauge7299 3 года назад

      Definitely! 😄 Japan gave us Zen - Denmark gives hygge to the world! 🤗

  • @123qaszx
    @123qaszx 3 года назад +1

    Hi im Danish and Totally agree on everything you said :D One of my favorites are spontanious talks with my girlfriends where we just laugh a lot. It Can be a walk in the forrest, going out for brunch or just gangout while we look sunday-ish. The slowdown where we just share everything about our lives at the moment is just soooo hygge👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👍🏽

  • @karenschafer2827
    @karenschafer2827 3 года назад +1

    My Danish grandmother had a very hygge home and trust me it wasn’t white! She was married in the Victorian era and all her rooms were burgundy or dark green with cozy couches and chairs and hand embroidered pillows. And candles, there have to be candles!

  • @deborahduthie4519
    @deborahduthie4519 3 года назад

    My Great Grandmothers father and his brothers built Windjammers and sailed immigrants around the world. The Knopples came to Australia and my Grand-mother grew to be the First Lady Major of the Salvation Army in Australia. We’re very proud of her Danish roots. Very proud of being of Danish descent.

  • @josefinenilsson8059
    @josefinenilsson8059 3 года назад +1

    Dane here. Hygge for me is not about places or people per se. It's more about being completely at peace. Anything emotionally overwhelming - such as irritation, frustration, stress etc - must be absent. You can make it easier to reach this "nirvana" by ligting candles (Danes are Europe's biggest consumers of candles), sitting in front of the fireplace on a cold winters day with a cup of tea, being with loved ones or whatever else makes you happy. But the feeling of hygge ultimately comes from inside. That's what it means to me; a state of coziness and peace.

  • @jakobraahauge7299
    @jakobraahauge7299 3 года назад +2

    It's such a challenge to explain what it means to hygge yourself! But you did a brilliant job getting to the points of what hygge is! One thing I'd like to add that it quite often includes calories 😂 chilling with chocolate, cookies, and coffee is a really efficient way to get to the point of hygge yourself! 🥰

    • @indaadams9912
      @indaadams9912 3 года назад +1

      How come the Danes don’t get obese with all this chocolate drinking and eating in front of a glowing open fire?.

    • @pernille8893
      @pernille8893 3 года назад +1

      @@indaadams9912 we bike

  • @michael-7240
    @michael-7240 3 года назад +3

    Is there a danish song with the theme or title of Hygge ? I think Juleaften is the *hygge* climax!

    • @MyNewDanishLife
      @MyNewDanishLife  3 года назад

      I think someone left a link to an old Danish show that has a song in it. Have a look through this thread. :)

    • @jakobraahauge7299
      @jakobraahauge7299 3 года назад

      Everything Jul and Christmas definitely should be hyggeligt 😄 Jul is the ultimate hygge holiday - but I also really think everything Easter and Påske is hyggeligt - water cress, chocolate eggs, and bunnies 🐰 so hyggeligt! 😄

    • @Lupinemancer87
      @Lupinemancer87 3 года назад +1

      There is a song in a old christmas show "julekalender" which is about hygge. If you are interested, you can find it here: ruclips.net/video/04rxQMNshoo/видео.html

  • @mvoetmann1
    @mvoetmann1 3 года назад +3

    I am not going to try to define hygge. But it has a lot to do with just slowing down and doing something enjoyable without rushing. Coming from the other side, I was sort of confused when my american wife (many years ago) would always drag me home from visiting our friends after dinner, just as I was getting ready to sit and talk and hygge for hours. She had to explain to me about "not overstaying ones welcome", which turns out to be an important part of manners in America. It is definitely not a Danish thing. When visiting friends we tend to hang around for hours, just enjoying the company.

    • @MyNewDanishLife
      @MyNewDanishLife  3 года назад +1

      It is also hard for Americans to have to "entertain" people for a long time if we aren't used to hygge. It is a very big cultural difference. LOL :)

    • @jakobraahauge7299
      @jakobraahauge7299 3 года назад

      So she'd literally make you go when the best part was about to happen 🤭 I hope she learned to kick that jantelov off her 😆 Americans aren't exactly known for that 🤔

  • @ibelfving7594
    @ibelfving7594 2 года назад +1

    In my mind, as a dane, hygge is a state of mind, based on other "strange" scandinavian things we live with, like the Jante law, equality among the sexes, freedom for our kids, enjoing work and the way we interact with other people. It has nothing to do with furniture, candles or anything you can buy. As Kelly stated, slow yourself down and enjoy your life and the present, with no stress, expectations and judgement of others or yourself.
    The way you look at the world is the power to enjoy hygge. You can only "hygge" with other people, if you ignore faults, status, result in your worklife and other matters that is unimportant. Hygge is an event that require a fundamental change of mind for some, You cannot buy a chair, candle or anything else to get hygge. You have to change your own mind and the way you look at other people to get hygge.

  • @marmotsongs
    @marmotsongs 3 года назад

    It’s funny that you didn’t grasp hygge until you moved to Denmark. I picked up on it right away. My first experience (and explanation) was not even in Denmark, but was a xmas dinner with some Danish friends in Paris. When I finally did make it to Denmark, it was for a friend’s “pepper” birthday celebration, and we had many hyggelig moments.
    That was 25 years ago and I would visit at least once a year until finally moving here.

    • @MyNewDanishLife
      @MyNewDanishLife  3 года назад

      Nope! I love to go-go-go. It has been hard for me to learn to slow down. A contrast of my personality in many ways! LOL

  • @CEngelbrecht
    @CEngelbrecht 3 года назад +3

    I'd still say the Danes just evolved to have a word for a phenomenon that the whole world has to some extent.

    • @MyNewDanishLife
      @MyNewDanishLife  3 года назад +1

      You are probably right.

    • @jakobraahauge7299
      @jakobraahauge7299 3 года назад +1

      I really think it's a word every language should try to get a word for - or simply adopt! Like zen - can be hard to explain the philosophy of the word, but it gives your mind a word that helps enjoying the world in a wonderful way! 😄

    • @CEngelbrecht
      @CEngelbrecht 3 года назад +1

      @@jakobraahauge7299
      I can't help but wonder if the Danish 'hygge' is somehow etymologically related to the English 'hug'.
      da.wiktionary.org/wiki/hygge

    • @jakobraahauge7299
      @jakobraahauge7299 3 года назад +1

      @@CEngelbrecht Should be related! My dictionary says hygge is from Norwegian, derived from "hu" - mind!
      It means "to comfort" or "encourage/to infuse someone with courage"
      What did your dictionary tell you about that?

  • @thomasroedgaard117
    @thomasroedgaard117 3 года назад +1

    Each to their own when it comes to the experience of hygge Much love Kelly :-D

    • @MyNewDanishLife
      @MyNewDanishLife  3 года назад

      Very true!

    • @jakobraahauge7299
      @jakobraahauge7299 3 года назад +1

      Yeah! That's totally one of the hyggelige aspects of what it means to hygge yourself! 😄 There's a non-conflict aspect to hygge, that helps making hygge so lovely! 🥰

  • @tw418
    @tw418 3 года назад

    Hygge is also a state of mind, because you can pull out all the candles, hot drinks and fire places you want….but if you are upset with the people you are with in ANY way, if there are any bad vibes, there is not gonna be any hygge

  • @joenthesaorgian
    @joenthesaorgian 3 года назад +1

    I think you are defining it quite well. A good and informative take on the subject.

    • @jakobraahauge7299
      @jakobraahauge7299 3 года назад

      Very hyggeligt I'd even say! I definitely hygged myself watching Kelly's hyggelige video on hygge! 😄

  • @henriette2855
    @henriette2855 3 года назад +1

    For my enjoy youself is the keywords in hygge. You have to enjoy youseld for it to be hyggeligt.

    • @MyNewDanishLife
      @MyNewDanishLife  3 года назад +2

      Very nice way to say it! :)

    • @jakobraahauge7299
      @jakobraahauge7299 3 года назад +1

      And it literally to hygge yourself, a reflexive verb! Very essential to hygge, but easily forgotten when we just use the noun to describe hygge! 🤗

  • @DanishDelight77
    @DanishDelight77 3 года назад

    Hygge is definitely a state of mind.
    Often based at home, getting close to mindfulness state of mind - where you are in a content state of mind with the people around you - talking, playing, eating etc.

  • @GeminaLuna
    @GeminaLuna 3 года назад +1

    You're so good at describing hygge :) Way better than I am! Tomorrow I'm going to have a hyggelig train-trip with my mom. And we're going to hygge us so much when we arrive in Skagen ^_^

  • @LindenhannDK
    @LindenhannDK 3 года назад +1

    Watching your videos are hygge ☺️ (I'm Danish and Greenlandic)

  • @kaib718
    @kaib718 3 года назад +2

    Hygge for me is a state of mind where you're in a positive balance with your self and your surroundings. It doesn't have to be slow or calm...you can "hygge" equally as well sitting with a friend and a beer on the beach talking about nothing and everything as joining a bounce of nerds on moutainbikes and get dirty together. Afterwards we just say: that was "hyggeligt" and everybody knows what that means so no further explanation or justifications for the time spent is necessary :0)

    • @MyNewDanishLife
      @MyNewDanishLife  3 года назад

      I swear my husband thinks everything is hyggeligt! LOL He is a happy Dane!

    • @kaib718
      @kaib718 3 года назад

      Exactly...life doesn't have to be any harder than that ;0)

  • @maj-britt5756
    @maj-britt5756 3 года назад

    Yesterday we had our bubble friends over for tapas and wine and we sat for hours at the dinner-table talking while our kids played. That was hygge!

  • @GoldschmidtLarsen
    @GoldschmidtLarsen 3 года назад

    If you think about it, hygge goes quite well with trust which might explain why danes usually have close bonds with their life-long friendships.
    To be in company with people you trust. To be yourself and appriciate the moment.
    And after spending time with people and have "hygget" you would say "It was hyggeligt"(Det var hyggeligt) instead of "We had a great time".
    - Which for danes would be kind of a compliment like "I like spending time with you because that gives me hygge".
    Instead of saying:
    "It was nice to meet you" - we could say "It was hyggeligt to meet you"(Hyggeligt at møde dig).
    - Which you would usually only say to the people you enjoyed talking/spending time with and gave you some hygge.
    Please leave a comment on any uses of "hygge" you could think of.
    - Maybe we would end up with a hygge dicticionary.

  • @mikedowell8465
    @mikedowell8465 Год назад

    I'm tempted to just move to Denmark and live the rest of my life.

  • @mortencorneliussen7773
    @mortencorneliussen7773 3 года назад +3

    hygge is best explained in English as quality time alone, together with family or friends

    • @jakobraahauge7299
      @jakobraahauge7299 3 года назад +1

      Quality time? 🤔 Hmm - it certainly is a shortcut, but in my opinion merely describing it as quality time is selling hygge short - but I get your drift! Hygge til! 😄

  • @marmotsongs
    @marmotsongs 3 года назад

    For me, peak hygge requires other people. It requires an interpersonal connection, a feeling of togetherness. A lot of what gets described as hyggelig are the accoutrements that can help facilitate hygge. But the bonding is necessary.
    I found the same word in Dutch- gezelligheid. According to wikipedia the word comes from the word for “friend”. Some consider the word to encompass the heart of Dutch culture.

    • @MyNewDanishLife
      @MyNewDanishLife  3 года назад

      I think "hygge" is in the eye of the beholder. :)

  • @heatherhughes4024
    @heatherhughes4024 3 года назад

    Thank you especially for this video.

  • @dannifredeiksen2228
    @dannifredeiksen2228 3 года назад +1

    Hygge = follow, listen to your heart, that will give u mental cozyness.

    • @MyNewDanishLife
      @MyNewDanishLife  3 года назад

      Nice! :)

    • @floro7687
      @floro7687 3 года назад

      @@MyNewDanishLife "hyggja" a West Norse word that travelled to Denmark from Norway about 1850.

  • @em8842
    @em8842 3 года назад

    Hygge is just spending quality time and feeling nice, alone or with people you enjoy being with - usually it involves food, snacks, coffee, beer etc., but it doesn't have to. Watching a movie is hygge, having a chat with someone is hygge, having a nice meal is hygge, grabbing a coffee is hygge, etc. etc :)
    It's not a uniquely Scandinavian thing, everyone does it all over the world, we just have a word for it lol

  • @Cnith
    @Cnith 3 года назад +3

    Personally I don't think "hygge" is uniquely Danish or Scandinavian. It has just been marketed that way to make people "come and experience it" I guess.
    Or maybe I'm wrong and just take it as being normal, because I've lived with it for my entire life and think that that's normal for pretty much everybody throughout the world, to have a nice, cozy time with family, friends or yourself and slow down. You'd think that people in Southern Europe would know "hygge", for instance, since they seem good at taking time to enjoy themselves and slow things down a bit.

    • @magnushmann
      @magnushmann 3 года назад +4

      The real difference is having such a concise word and expression for it that is heavily used, because ofc many other people all around the world can do effectively the exact same things that one might call "hyggeligt", but an exact word or ways to express the danish or even Scandinavian "kind" of hygge is usually lacking.
      I'd say that seems to be the actual thing that is about it, even though indeed the concept itself without name shouldn't seem too alien to most.

  • @ThomasSepstrup
    @ThomasSepstrup 3 года назад +1

    I love your videos.

  • @KHValby
    @KHValby 3 года назад

    Spot on :-) !

  • @humphreygokart2135
    @humphreygokart2135 3 года назад +1

    What does Hygge mean? Wow! One of the great existential questions. Though perhaps not all that difficult to answer. "Hygge" simply means cosiness. It's even in the dictionary, so no mysteries there. No hidden explanations for why the Danes are such an insanely happy people. In fact, such an explanation doesn't exist simply because they're not. Perhaps they ought to be but if you really know them, you know that they're not, and they know it too. And that can make some of them even more unhappy - if not downright "uhyggelige".

  • @camillasaietz4856
    @camillasaietz4856 3 года назад +3

    "scandinavian design magazine hygge" I'm dying cause it's so true 😂😂😂 it's just a way to trick people into thinking that they're not in touch with their true identity and scandinavian values unless they spurt out to buy overpriced three-legged tables, boring understated artprints and ceramic vases with dried flowers.

  • @peterlarsen7779
    @peterlarsen7779 3 года назад +2

    I have to admit that the minimalistic lifestyles or interior decorations of ones home, isn't "hygge". To me, "hygge" also includes having lots of nic-nacs etc in my home. I feel the people that do the minimalism, are trying to break away from tradition...
    I think you have the right mindset and will pull it off...just embrace it, relax and sort of take on (to an extent) the "manjana attitude"...
    "Hygge" can also be a nice mug of coffee, tea or hot cocoa on a cold day...Perhaps with freshly baked homemade buns or bread, or perhaps a deliscious cake, some candles lit, playing cards or a board game, reading a book, listening to your favourite music...
    Thanks for the post... I'll be sure to share with my girlfriend Nanette in New Hampshire.

    • @MyNewDanishLife
      @MyNewDanishLife  3 года назад +1

      Thanks so much!

    • @jakobraahauge7299
      @jakobraahauge7299 3 года назад

      I dare say that even in the settings of most minimalistically refined elegance you can make it really hyggeligt if you bring that wonderful mindset you lovingly describe 🤗 hygge is definitely a state of mind - and heart! 😄

  • @blak4001
    @blak4001 3 года назад +4

    Lego = LEg(play) GOdt(Well) :-P

    • @argantyr5154
      @argantyr5154 3 года назад +1

      True, and coincidentally in Latin it means "I collect, or I gather".

    • @jakobraahauge7299
      @jakobraahauge7299 3 года назад

      Le(t) Go - it's so cool there's this aspect of Lego too - letting go of worries and immersing yourself in creating something out of bricks and your imagination! 😄

  • @olejensen3125
    @olejensen3125 3 года назад

    :-)) Love

  • @Lupinemancer87
    @Lupinemancer87 3 года назад +2

    Hygge is just a shortened version of the Danish word "Hyggeligt", which means "Cozy".
    It's not so much a thing, as it is just a word we have for the feeling you have when you engage in relaxation.

  • @anacamejo4640
    @anacamejo4640 Год назад

    Americans love clutter, you adore to have stuff. Maybe cause the mindset that the more you won and have, the more successful you are. Having a home full of stuff, it will feel like your home is coming in on you. What you described from the magazine, sounds very cozy.
    Also, I’m a mother of two boys, and the ability to sit with a book, is very possible. And I think the blanket is fleece not fur.

    • @MyNewDanishLife
      @MyNewDanishLife  Год назад

      I think it is a matter of perspective. Also, have you ever been in a Danish home from Jutland in the 1980s or that of an older Dane? I can't believe how much clutter was in the homes of the older Danes I visited compared to the younger Danes. Both Danish...Different perspectives. I wouldn't say Americans love clutter, but I like to have things around me that mean something to me. Perhaps, I have some emotional attachment to things. That might be American..I don't know. We have fur blankets as well as fleece blankets. The fur are Danish and the fleece were bought in the USA. ;) I think it really is an individual preference.

    • @anacamejo4640
      @anacamejo4640 Год назад

      @@MyNewDanishLife Indeed I have. Both old homes in Jutland and in cpr.
      The homes were small, with tight spaces, awful decor, but didn't really see much clutter. People couldn't really afford a lot of stuff, and many had the bare minimum.

  • @wunderstrudel
    @wunderstrudel 3 года назад

    I think it is impossible to explain the concept of "hygge" in detail.
    It really means quite different things depending on the context.
    Hygge takes its base meaning from "Cozy" but is still quite different from person to person.
    Hygge for me is not necessarily hygge for others. So i think we have some common grounds but really hygge is just doing whatever makes you happy, makes you feel at home and content. Just enjoying the moment and everything it has to give without concerning one self with the everyday problems.
    But this is just me though. Might be very different for others. d:

    • @MyNewDanishLife
      @MyNewDanishLife  3 года назад

      I do think it is something different for everyone! :)

  • @nikkikapasakalidi9338
    @nikkikapasakalidi9338 3 года назад

    Can I say it about yoga ?

  • @betinnac2234
    @betinnac2234 3 года назад

    Is your one iris in the eye "bleeding" . I've noticed in 2 of your videos now, and I'm curious 😅 or is it just reflection?

    • @MyNewDanishLife
      @MyNewDanishLife  3 года назад

      That is funny. I made a TikTok video about it because I had no many people asking. You can get a close up view of it on that video. It is just a freckle! :)

  • @masterm.3158
    @masterm.3158 3 года назад

    Which town do you live in

    • @mortzon5681
      @mortzon5681 3 года назад +1

      Hun bor på Jylland, men ved ikke hvor på Jylland hun bor

    • @masterm.3158
      @masterm.3158 3 года назад

      @@mortzon5681 ok

    • @BigAndTall666
      @BigAndTall666 3 года назад

      One should never disclose such or other personal information on the internet.. 😉