Hygge- How Living in Norway Taught me to Bring Warmth to Winter Darkness

When one thinks of the sun in Norway, they envision the endlessness of the presence of light. Seemingly infinite, the sun never dips below the horizon, and the sweetness of honeysuckle seems to kiss the golden rays with its scent. In my first months spent in the small municipality of Fjaler in the Northwest of the country, I was gifted with the presumption that as winter fell, the dark would not be prolonged as I expected. 

I was false in this assumption. I found myself venturing to and from my classes in total darkness – seeing the stars and moon appear at 3:30 in the afternoon and not disappearing until 11 in the morning. The days became colder as the snow first blanketed our campus in mid-October, and I recall the complete bewilderment I felt as to how this reality was not only possible but embraced by so many. Yet as the shock wore off and the ice on the fjord of my campus solidified, solidified too was my pursuit to make the darkness become something I embraced as much as the endless light of the summer.

The season continued, and I found myself sitting around the warmth of a campfire on a December evening when I first heard the words I would repeat to myself for the rest of my time there. Norwegians, and the people of Scandinavia, take the winter as an opportunity to slow down. They do not push through the darkness; rather, it is embraced as an excuse to become united with the stillness of life and the slow continuity of the days. It’s an excuse to be quiet, to breathe, and to be with those around us.  

As the piles of snow grew and grew, my mind grew with them. I was accustomed to a routine in which daily life continued through the dark, but slowly, I became used to the rituals of Hygge – a concept in which the warmth of the atmosphere exists enveloped in and because of the cold of the outside world.  

I no longer relied upon the agendas I had set for myself. Mornings were spent with a mug of tea, pages of a journal, and the comfort of wool socks under my boots and soft scarves around my neck. I further began to embrace the idea of venturing outside, and welcoming the cold as a part of my every day. I do not think I have ever laughed as much as I did falling into mountainous heaps of snow on cross country ski trips or felt as satisfied as I did after emerging from an icy dip in frozen water. As the cold sank into those afternoon sunsets, I felt no need to rush their existence or pass them by. Instead, they were my cue that the world would continue to exist in quiet, and I too could exist alongside it.  

It’s impossible to not create a connection  with those you choose to surround yourself with when sharing the views of the winter. With temporary rosy cheeks came a lifetime of things I will envision in the back of my mind, through the warmer and cooler months. These are things that I will carry with me as a reminder of how warmth permeated my life in the very same way I expected the cold to. 

We in St. Andrews experience a similar sort of evening darkness and morning coolness that has just begun to settle upon our little town. While Autumn still feels strong in its presence, as the leaves begin to disappear off even the most vibrant of trees, it can be so easy to pray against the earliness of dusk and towards warmer months.  

Hygge reflects our core values- a spirit of consensus, a marking of stillness, a feeling of unity in coziness and the true embracing of being together. It is now almost time to use this new darkness to embrace Hygge and find comfort in some of the practices of Scandinavia that will begin to create a new fold of tradition to savor alongside the presence of the ones we love.  

How to Embrace Hygge:

1. Learn the stories of the people you surround yourself with 

One of the most profound things I recall experiencing was learning about the journeys that the people I love took before I met them. We took the time to find a quiet, still moment to be together, and in the candlelight, answered questions about our lives before that moment, about our ambitions of ourselves and who we hope to become as time continues. Something about that moment remains reflected in my memory as one of the most core moments of my time spent with these people, and I truly believe that taking this time was key in creating the bond we formed with one another.  

No cost is needed to do this activity with the ones you love. I recommend a set of guiding questions to prompt these conversations, which can easily be found online, in card games, or simply created by you. Not only does it create the feeling of closeness needed in the practice of Hygge, but it embraces the sense of emotional warmth that is key in the comfort of its ideals. Light candles, sit down with your favorite warm beverages, and truly learn what creates those around you.  

2. Take the time to learn something new  

It’s easy to fall into a consistency of habits and a repetition of routine. This is what led me to the fjord each morning, that sat on my school’s campus and reflected the buildings as it froze come November. Joined by a small group at 7 in the morning each day, we plunged, with stars often still glowing off the layers of ice on the water as we sat next to one another in mindful breath. This moment of still silence was always followed by dancing our way back to warm showers and wool socks, with the promise of meeting in 20 minutes for a mug of coffee in the unifying notion that we had done something together before the day had even begun.  

Jumping into the new forms of routine and challenges not only inspired something for me to look forward to, but it created some of the fondest memories I have. Learning something new creates community, one of the core elements of Hygge. While routines can be simple and comforting, monotony will never introduce you to the experience that can come with implementing a new journey into the one you are currently on. 

3. Practice daily moments of gratitude  

If you are like me, the notion and commitment of a journal is often somewhat overwhelming. I love the idea of reflection and memory captured in my writing, yet I often find my entries incomplete time and time again.  

However, I was introduced to the notion of gratitude lists. Each morning and each evening, I would write 5 simple things I was grateful for. No rules applied to these lists, and they could be compiled of anything- simply, it was an exercise in enjoying the connections I had made and the people I was lucky to know. The coziness of Hygge is fostered in the love of one another. Reflecting on the specificities of what I had to love about those around me embraced this.  

4. Practice ‘joy-dressing’ 

As the majority of people tend to do, I find myself reaching for the most neutral-based tones in the wintertime. My wardrobe is very repetitive, and despite my love for all things printed and colorful, I very rarely reflect this in my clothing choices.  As winter is upon us, it often feels simplest to cover our clothing with thick jackets, and continue with our lives in the same routines as we are accustomed to falling into.  

In Norway however, I was introduced to simply sparking joy in the intention of what I chose to wear. The clothing choices of my Scandinavian peers highlighted bright scarves against the snow and fun accessories alongside their coats, the coats themselves patterned, joyful, and eye-catching against the monotone landscape. Each day, I wore something I had forgotten about, challenging myself to style things outside of my comfort zone, and finding a new objective reach to look forward to each morning. The simplest things reflected in how I began to see myself, and I began to look at my reflection with a broader notion of joy than I had previously. 

5. Go outside (no, really! Trust me!) 

It is so truly tempting to huddle indoors. And this, I know, is what a large portion of Hygge is based on- the ability to shelter and hibernate in the dens of our homes amidst warm fireplaces and piles of books.  

Yet, the cold still exists outside, and we exist alongside it. Therefore, in Norway, we are taught how we must invite the cold into our practices to truly embody the concept of Hygge. We often hear the phrase- ‘there is no form of bad weather, simply bad clothing.’ This is crucially true. My most comforting memories of wintertime are bundled in wool and thermal layers, afternoons spent on mountaintops and evenings spent strolling through snow-nestled forests. I prioritized spending fair amounts of my moments in the outdoors, making sure I created as much of a connection with the passage of time in the world around me as I did with the people in it. An even larger incentive is that, when one embraces the cold, the warmth becomes all that much warmer. Your cup of hot chocolate will taste all that much better after shaking off snow covered boots and making your way back to a winter den. 

Winter in Norway has taught me the beauty of specific moments of joy to look forward to. Hygge is my reminder that joy exists in so many varieties and forms, and I am capable of creating these joys in my life. As winter falls upon us here, I am certain of the knowledge that we will glow in the warmth of our St. Andrews bubble, and Hygge will teach you of the same beauties in your own ways. Take a breath, find the stillness, and nestle into the notion that winter cold is an opportunity for an even deeper warmth.  

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