"Hygge", the Danish method for happiness
No intrusive mother-in-law, furnishings not to be touched, dark and forbidden spaces: the house, the family and the "hygge" people are something extremely "welcoming" and clear, which attracts to itself precisely by virtue of its simplicity, towards which it makes you feel really good: here is the book "The Danish method for living happy, hygge", a literary success and a lifestyle that, apart from fads, is worth knowing
Narrative therapy is a branch of psychology that claims that identity is shaped based on the stories we tell, about ourselves and others, about the words we use. " The Danish method to live happily, hygge " relies on the word "hygge" (pronounce it more or less like "iugghe", considering that the "y" is similar to a French "u", while the "e" ending closes towards the "o"), the word of a special culture, the Danish one, which sees the home, the family and the domestic heat as a safe haven to reach .
In England, where the book was a resounding success, they even noticed that the term comes close to the English "hug", a hug. And what's more "hygge" than a dear and sweet embrace? But hygge is so much more: it is climate, it is the history of a people, it is geography, it is the ability to welcome and feel all the same. Let's find out what this book teaches us.
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Like the house for the "hygge"
According to Professor Jeppe Trolle Linnet, the nature of the "hygge" phenomenon is to be traced back to a set of conditions that include the climate, family-oriented culture and a welfare state based on democracy and equality, we remember that in this country redistribution of resources narrows the gap between rich and poor and that many social services are free.
Cold and hot, light and darkness: the contrasts are a fundamental part of Nordic life, the rain dominates for most of the year and the real heat can only be found in the flames of the fireplace.
As the professor himself explained, taking up the book "The unstable climate has contributed to this sort of romantic idea that the Nordic peoples have of the house as a safe haven", in which families gather to gather strength before going out of new to face the outside world. The house is the physical part of the "hygge", the family its social part: the "hygge" in its protoforma.
When we look for the "hygge" outside our homes, we find it mostly in places that have home-like features: a limited view of the outside and, inside, soft lighting and comfortable furniture.
Denmark: the small "hygge" state
Among the pages of "The Danish method for living happy, hygge" we also find a historical explanation for being "hygge": that of a country, Denmark, which has seen its empire reduced in size.
Linnet concludes " The characteristics of hygge - tranquility, intimacy, introversion and equality - correspond to the image we have of ourselves as a nation: a small peaceful country that does not attack anyone and where everyone is on the same level" .
And the parallelism arises spontaneously: how can Italy be defined as a "hygge" country ? If "Lagom" is the Swedish answer to Danish hygge, (La Repubblica), what is the Italian concept that can correspond to it?
Difficult to answer . What is certain is that in the beautiful country it is at the table that being hygge gives its best: a beautiful dish of steaming and steaming spaghetti with basil and tomato, extra virgin olive oil and cheese, or a polenta with mushrooms and fontina cheese in the cold winter mountains can come closer much to this feeling, even here without paying much attention to external details, but considering the interior a lot!
The book: "The Danish method for living happy. Hygge" by Marie Tourell Søderberg, editor Newton Compton. Also read: "The Danish way to happiness" by Meik Wiking.
