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Look "hygge" on Instagram and you’ll find 1.7-million posts on socks and hot chocolate.
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Pinterest experienced a 285% spike on hygge pins
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and, last year, it was as the Oxford dictionary word of the year.
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What was once a Danish custom is now big in the U.S.
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Meik Wiking is the of the Happiness Research Institute
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and the author of The Little Book of Hygge, a that was reprinted three times before its release
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and is published in 26 countries.
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– Alright, Mike.
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Tell me, what is hygge?
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– Hygge is being cozy, but it has also been described as the art of creating a nice atmosphere.
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It’s been called the pursuit of everyday .
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It's also been called for introverts.
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– Okay!
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– But it's about being together with the people you love.
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It's about . It's about .
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It's about good food. It’s about .
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It’s about equality.
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All of those things mixed together is hygge.
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– Would you characterize hygge as a lifestyle trend or as self-help?
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– Actually, neither.
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I mean, to us Danes, hygge is part of our culture.
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It's part of our national DNA, perhaps the same way that Americans see freedom as American.
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– If you think hygge just sounds like a trendy Scandinavian for
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all the things humans like in the dead of winter—
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comfort foods and —you’re not wrong.
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But the Danes’ conviction is singular.
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They burn more than anyone in Europe and they eat a lot of candy per capita,
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all in pursuit of hygge.
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– I think there is savoring pleasures.
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Indulgence is, I think, key in terms of hygge, and perhaps also something .
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I think also hygge is taking a break from demands of healthy eating,
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so it is about cake, it is about candy, it is about hot chocolate, it is about alcohol,
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some even might say it’s about, you know, sinful .
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– Hygge is horrible for your health, conceivably?
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–You could say that.
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I mean, compared to the Swedes and the Norwegians, we have a shorter life expectancy.
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We do eat more .
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– But Type II diabetes and fire hazards aren’t what Danes are known for.
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They’re known for happiness.
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Denmark consistently places first in the UN’s World Happiness Report,
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an international poll where citizens are asked to self-evaluate on their .
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The U.S., for all our “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” has never cracked the top 10.
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– So what does America have to learn from Denmark in terms of happiness and hygge?
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– I think, in many ways, Denmark is what the U.S. would look like if Bernie Sanders was President.
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I think the most defining of Danish culture and life and politics is our democratic socialism.
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Universal health care, equal opportunities for men and women, free university education, social security.
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At a certain point, additional , it does not lead to improved quality of life.
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– Hygge’s been huge all over Europe for a while, but it’s zeitgeisting stateside.
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With the help of Danish transplants like Claus Meyer, a chef and restaurateur,
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hygge is finding its place in America.
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Meyer has been living in the U.S. for a year and a half and has hygge over dinner every night
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with his wife Christina, an interior designer, and their daughters.
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– What about this is hygge versus just, like, any other family just eating a meal?
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– We actually have made an active decision not to be the phone while we are together.
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And that everybody’s included in the conversation.
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– And I've been to other families where they just don't even eat together.
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But maybe the parents are doing something else, or they're on or computers,
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and they don't really talk to each other.
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And I can we really feel the difference in the atmosphere.
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– While Meyer does impart some Danish culture to his staff, offering paid and paternity leave,
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he doesn’t think Denmark runs a monopoly on hygge.
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It’s that naming it and recognizing gives it power.
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– Do you fear that doing hygge will fade the more time you spend here?
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– It could, probably. In many, many years.
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But it is one element of life.
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I naturally believe that many people find that moment, they just call it something else.
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Some moment of and where you're close to other people and
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listen with your heart and heart and see people with your heart.
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And even though we're more conscious about it, I can't imagine that it doesn't exist somewhere else.