Book Review. "The little book of HYGGE" by Meik Wiking

A nice little book "Hygge. The Danish way to live well" by Meik Wiking is a very good gift for one pleasant evening or leisurely viewing every day. In Copenhagen, there is the Happiness Research Institute headed by Meik Wiking which is engaged in permanent research and study of this topic from various angles. For many years, Denmark has been the happiest country in the world, so everyone is wondering what makes the Danes so happy, despite the cool weather, short world days (lights late, dark early), rains, and fog.

The main postulates of Danish happiness:

• The ability to sincerely enjoy and be grateful makes people happy.

• It is necessary to always be present here and now.

• Relaxation in everything - atmosphere, lifestyle, and clothes. What I liked most about the clothes was having loads of scarves and layering to survive all four seasons in one day. And Sara Lund's sweater from the TV series "The Killing" (a detective series with a twisted plot) is exactly that.

• Chocolate, candies, cakes, and cookies are hygge... You need to eat A LOT of them!!! Every Dane eats an average of 8.2 kg of sweets every year, while a European eats 4.1 kg.

• You are what you eat. Hygge is when there are always homemade sweets at home and homemade cookies or cakes at work. The advantage of home food over restaurant food. Cooking dinner in a group is like a culinary master class, where everyone does their part and at the same time, everyone communicates, in this case, the cooking process itself is important, not the consumption of food at the end of the evening.

• Oysters and champagne are not about hygge.

• 86% of Danes associate hot drinks with hygge. The Danes are the fourth in the world in terms of coffee consumption and drink 33% more coffee per person than, for example, Americans.

• Lighting matters. First, the use of candles. The Danes believe that true hygge is not possible without the use of candles. In addition to candles, lamps are very important, which should create a soft light in the room.

• Spending evenings with friends and relatives, creating clubs based on interests. "We" is more important than "I".

• The house is the headquarters of the hygge. You should have your hygge-place (for example, a windowsill with many soft pillows), a fireplace (preferably), woodwork, lots of books, warm blankets, lots of pillows, candles, handmade ceramics, and vintage things.

• Hugs are very important to Danes. During hugs and kisses, a person feels calmer and happier. Because touch makes us produce the hormone oxytocin, which makes us feel happy. It reduces stress, pain, and fear.

• The balance between work and free time is IMPORTANT.

• Hygge is socialization for introverts.

• The best things in life are free.

September 18, 2022.