Have you heard about hygge?It was a word of the year in the UK in 2016. It’s related to words for comfort, mood and hugs. It’s pronounced “hoo-gah”. It’s a Scandinavian secret to a happy life.
So what is hygge, and what does it have to do with candles? That’s what we’ll look at in this blog, so make yourself comfortable, read on and find out.
Hygge is a word used in Norway and Denmark that roughly translates as “cosiness” in the sense of comfort, joy and wellbeing, and it’s related to words for mind and soul. It has also been described as a “form of everyday togetherness”. Perhaps it’s easier to feel hygge than to define it. Amongst the Nordic countries, Denmark has taken the idea of hygge and elevated it to the status of an important part of their national identity and a key part of Danish living. In the Gallup annual World Happiness Report, Denmark is consistently ranked one of the happiest countries in the world, so when the Danes say that hygge is the key to their happiness, people listen.
The official tourism organisation of Denmark describes hygge as “creating a warm atmosphere and enjoying the good things in life with good people”. Reminiscing with someone you love by a crackling wood fire is hygge, so is having a nice, relaxing dinner and talking late into the evening with good friends. Christmas is very hygge, and candles are super hygge, which explains why the Danes are as obsessed with candles as we are here at EVA Candles. The Danes really love their candles and light their homes with them at every opportunity, and if you ask a Dane to explain hygge you can be pretty sure that candles will quickly be a part of the conversation.
The reason is that the warm, intimate light that candles provide and the cosy, relaxing atmosphere that they create go to the heart of the feeling of hygge.
We’ve written extensively in previous blogs about how a quality natural scented candle can create a wonderful mood with its magical combination of light, scent and flame. The Danes really understand this too, which is why a relaxing evening always begins with lighting some candles, and why candles are an essential ingredient of hygge. We don’t think it’s a coincidence that one of the happiest places on Earth is also one of the places where people are most likely to light a candle.
One aspect of hygge that isn’t often mentioned is its relationship with Danish interior design. Hygge isn’t only about warm, soft lighting and good company, it’s also about the beauty and feeling of your home, and that’s reflected in the Danish obsession with good design. The influential style of modern
Danish design emphasizes simplicity and finding beauty in functional design using quality materials. We couldn’t agree more, and our designs combine the finest quality natural soy wax, cotton and paper wicks and fragrances with beautiful and stylish high-quality containers. Every candle in our collection has been designed and crafted with passion and experience to enhance and complement your home for the most sublime effect, so there’s hygge in the design and in the flame.
By now you can probably see why our design philosophy of affordable luxury is influenced by hygge, and we hope that you have a better idea of what hygge is and what it entails. We like to think that there’s a lot of hygge in each of our premium soy wax scented candles, so check out our collections and see which of our candles you’d like to get cosy with.