A Little Hygge
Just a quick little update before I get to the meat of my blog post today: The Lord has been blessing us incredibly over the last few weeks. A dear regular of mine at my job gave Jake and I a bunch of tools for the house. Also, after submitting our inspection to the sellers, they agreed to fix everything, even what they weren't required to fix. We finished our home buyers class for the Colorado first time home buyer grant and also received the appraisal and approval for the loan. We are signing on Friday, the 6th, at 11am! It has been an insane process, but we could not be more excited to have a place to call our own.
Jingles is just like a Sour Patch candy pack, sour and sweet. She loves to take naps in the bathroom or on whatever moving box she can reach. She hates when Ollie chases her or tries to steal her food/water (the two of them are like Garfield and Odie, I kid you not).
Ollie is like a little boy, sweet and kinda naughty. He loves his Kong toy and taking things he shouldn't have, like mom's spatulas and spoons. He enjoys playing tug of war and fetch, and loves annoying his sister. He hates the vacuum/carpet cleaner/broom and getting in trouble. (Funny Ollie story: We took him to Petsmart the other day to get him a harness for hiking and he cocked his leg and peed on a bottom shelf of dog soaps. I laughed so hard. It was kind of hard to be mad at him. Then later on I put the harness on him wrong and he basically had his 2 legs just go out from under him. That one made my stomach hurt from laughing so hard.) Anyway! On to the point of my blog post today!
I love words. I think there are good words and bad words. Words that should be used less and some that should be used more. Fancy words and lazy words and everything in between. They have kind of always fascinated me (Jake used to look up words and use them to impress me before we were dating). Pretty recently I learned a new word: hygge (pronounced hoo-ga). It's Danish and it's not just a word for the Danes, it's a way of life. Curious upon discovering it, I decided to do more research. The whole thing really became popular elsewhere because the Danes are the happiest people in the world and they believe it is primarily because of this concept of hygge. Don't don't go closing the blog on me until you read the whole thing. It's nothing hokey or New-age or anything like that. Personally, after the research and reading I've done, I really think us as Christians, and just people in general, could really benefit from hygge.
So what is it? Like I said before, hygge is more than a word. It's a lifestyle. It's togetherness. It's safety and coziness. Blankets, candles, a fireplace, fuzzy socks, board games and just silence. It's taking time to slow down and enjoy the simple things in life. It's having friends over for food and board games, laughter and tea. It's a comfy chair and a soft lamp after a rough day. It's curling up with a good book during a rainstorm. It's setting aside screens and making memories. It's taking a few moments to enjoy peace and quiet.
I found the whole concept of hygge really appealing and really beautiful (plus, the Danes really love cake and I can get on board with that any day). We could all use to slow down and enjoy time with family and friends or with a spouse, or even by ourselves. And as a follower of Jesus, fellowship and hospitality are huge! Who wouldn't want their home to feel more cozy and welcoming for guests? I personally can't wait to have a special hygge space in our new house. The perfect place to re-center and spend time with Jesus or hangout with friends, or just enjoy some quiet.
Was this concept new to you? What do you think of it? Do you have a special place all your own? I would love to hear about it and what type of hygge things you might already do. If you want to learn more about hygge, there is a book (probably available at your local library) called "The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living" by Meik Wiking . It was a super interesting read and worth checking out, even if just to learn about something new.
Jingles is just like a Sour Patch candy pack, sour and sweet. She loves to take naps in the bathroom or on whatever moving box she can reach. She hates when Ollie chases her or tries to steal her food/water (the two of them are like Garfield and Odie, I kid you not).
Ollie is like a little boy, sweet and kinda naughty. He loves his Kong toy and taking things he shouldn't have, like mom's spatulas and spoons. He enjoys playing tug of war and fetch, and loves annoying his sister. He hates the vacuum/carpet cleaner/broom and getting in trouble. (Funny Ollie story: We took him to Petsmart the other day to get him a harness for hiking and he cocked his leg and peed on a bottom shelf of dog soaps. I laughed so hard. It was kind of hard to be mad at him. Then later on I put the harness on him wrong and he basically had his 2 legs just go out from under him. That one made my stomach hurt from laughing so hard.) Anyway! On to the point of my blog post today!
I love words. I think there are good words and bad words. Words that should be used less and some that should be used more. Fancy words and lazy words and everything in between. They have kind of always fascinated me (Jake used to look up words and use them to impress me before we were dating). Pretty recently I learned a new word: hygge (pronounced hoo-ga). It's Danish and it's not just a word for the Danes, it's a way of life. Curious upon discovering it, I decided to do more research. The whole thing really became popular elsewhere because the Danes are the happiest people in the world and they believe it is primarily because of this concept of hygge. Don't don't go closing the blog on me until you read the whole thing. It's nothing hokey or New-age or anything like that. Personally, after the research and reading I've done, I really think us as Christians, and just people in general, could really benefit from hygge.
So what is it? Like I said before, hygge is more than a word. It's a lifestyle. It's togetherness. It's safety and coziness. Blankets, candles, a fireplace, fuzzy socks, board games and just silence. It's taking time to slow down and enjoy the simple things in life. It's having friends over for food and board games, laughter and tea. It's a comfy chair and a soft lamp after a rough day. It's curling up with a good book during a rainstorm. It's setting aside screens and making memories. It's taking a few moments to enjoy peace and quiet.
Was this concept new to you? What do you think of it? Do you have a special place all your own? I would love to hear about it and what type of hygge things you might already do. If you want to learn more about hygge, there is a book (probably available at your local library) called "The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living" by Meik Wiking . It was a super interesting read and worth checking out, even if just to learn about something new.
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