I’ve been writing about hygge for the past few weeks but I would like to introduce you to three new Scandinavian concepts that are popular and getting a lot of attention.
Hygge is from Denmark and is roughly translated as cozy. It is about finding places, people, things, foods that make you feel cozy. A good concept in a Nordic country (or state as the case may be).
Lagom (pronounced lah-gum, as in fa-la-la gum) is the basically the Goldilocks concept of “just the right” (you know, the three beds, chairs, bowls of porridge but only one was just right). Lagom’s basic idea is not too much, not too little, just right. Lagom knows what extremes are and finds the moderate path between.
Lykke (pronounced LOO-ka; as in Skip To My LOO-ka) is the Danish concept of pursuing and finding the good that exists in the world around us every day. Lykke translates to happiness in English. Meik Wiking, the author of “The Little Book of Hygge,” also writes about lykke in “The Little Book of Lykke.” He identifies the six factors that explain the majority of differences in happiness across the world—togetherness, money, health, freedom, trust, and kindness—and explores what actions we can take to become happier.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuPQ-2SUm-M?rel=0&w=560&h=315]
Swedish Death Cleaning (pronounced wha-ut?) is not as morbid as it sounds. It is basically about decluttering but with the emphasize on not being a burden to anyone after you pass on – especially your spouse or your children. It is also called döstädning which derived from the Swedish words for death (dö) and cleaning (städning).
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGTIVU4HcUo&w=560&h=315]
This blog will talk about all of these in the future because each concept has something to help make our lives better.
Written by Mary Hirsch