By+Anna+Altman

在寒冷的季節，手捧一杯热饮，裹在厚厚的毛毯里，听着窗外狂风呼啸……还有什么比这更惬意的呢？对此，丹麦人有个专门的叫法——hygge。这种独特的文化深植于丹麦人的国民性格之中，更在近年来刮起了一股席卷全球的风潮。

The Oxford Dictionaries 2016 “word of the year” shortlist was heavy on neologisms1） that one wishes didnt have to exist： “alt-right2），” “Brexiteer，” and this years winning term， “post-truth3）.” Among the finalists， though， there was one bit of solace： “hygge，” a Danish term defined as “a quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality4） that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being.” Pronounced “hoo-guh，” the word is said to have no direct translation in English， though “cozy” comes close.

It derives from a sixteenth-century Norwegian term， hugga， meaning “to comfort” or “to console，” which is related to the English word “hug.” Associated with relaxation， indulgence， and gratitude， hygge has long been considered a part of the Danish national character. In a 1957 “Letter from Copenhagen” in The New Yorker， the writer Robert Shaplen reported that hygge was “ubiquitous” in the city： “The sidewalks are filled with smiling， hyggelige people， who keep lifting their hats to each other and who look at a stranger with an expression that indicates they wish they knew him well enough to lift their hats to him， too.”

In the past year， this concept of Scandinavian coziness has made inroads5） with an international audience. At least six books about hygge were published in the United States this year， with more to come in 2017. Helen Russell， a British journalist who wrote The Year of Living Danishly， defines the term as “taking pleasure in the presence of gentle， soothing things，” like a freshly brewed cup of coffee and cashmere socks. Signe Johansen， in a cookbook and wellness guide， How to Hygge： The Nordic Secrets to a Happy Life， links hygge to food and drink like cardamom6） buns， muesli7） “ne plus ultra8），” and triple cherry9） gl?gg10）， a Scandinavian mulled wine with cardamom pods and star anise11）； she calls it “healthy hedonism12）.” Louisa Thomsen Brits， the author of The Book of Hygge： The Danish Art of Contentment， Comfort， and Connection， calls it “a practical way of creating sanctuary in the middle of very real life” and “a cure for SAD13）”—seasonal affective disorder—“in book form.”

Winter is the most hygge time of year. It is candles， nubby14） woolens， shearling15） slippers， woven textiles， pastries， blond wood， sheepskin rugs， lattes with milk-foam hearts， and a warm fireplace. Hygge can be used as a noun， adjective， verb， or compound noun， like hyggebukser， otherwise known as that shlubby pair of pants you would never wear in public but secretly treasure. Hygge can be found in a bakery and in the dry heat of a sauna in winter， surrounded by your naked neighbors. Its wholesome and nourishing， like porridge； Danish doctors recommend “tea and hygge” as a cure for the common cold. Its possible to hygge alone， wrapped in a flannel16） blanket with a cup of tea， but the true expression of hygge is joining with loved ones in a relaxed and intimate atmosphere. In The Little Book of Hygge， the best-selling of the current crop of books， Meik Wiking， the C.E.O. of a Copenhagen think tank called the Happiness Research Institute， shares a story about a Christmas Day spent with friends in a woodsy cabin. After a hike in the snow， the friends sat around the fireplace wearing sweaters and woolen socks， listening to the crackle of the fire， and enjoying mulled wine. One of his friends asked， “Couldnt this be any more hygge？” Everyone nodded when one woman replied， “Yes， if a storm were raging outside.”

Like many of the best things from Scandinavia， hygge might seem to come with a whiff of17） smugness. The term is often mentioned in the same paragraph that reminds us that Danes （or， depending on the year， Norwegians and Swedes） are the happiest people in the world. Perhaps Scandinavians are better able to appreciate the small， hygge things in life because they already have all the big ones nailed down： free university education， social security， universal health care， efficient infrastructure， paid family leave， and at least a month of vacation a year. With those necessities secured， according to Wiking， Danes are free to become “aware of the decoupling18） between wealth and wellbeing.” “After our basic needs are met， more money doesnt lead to more happiness，” he said. “Instead， Danes are good at focusing on what brings them a better quality of life.”

This vision of restrained pleasure harmonizes with a related Swedish concept， lagom， which refers to a kind of moderation. Pronounced with a hard “G，” the term is said to come from the Viking phrase lagetom， or “around the team，” meaning that you should take only a sip of the mead19） thats being passed around so that no one is left without. Lagom means “adequate，” “just right，” or “in balance” and it is said to have burrowed deep into the Swedish national psyche， if not that of all Scandinavians. It encourages modesty and teamwork and discourages extremes. It is related to fairness， the need for consensus， and equality. Lagom is how a Swede might respond when someone asks how much milk you want in your tea or if things are going well. Hygge shares lagoms reverence for measured experience： Indulging in a piece of cake， but not outright gluttony20）； a dinner with friends at home， but nothing fancy.

Louisa Thomsen Brits， a British-Danish writer， casts hygge as a state of mindfulness： How to make essential and mundane tasks dignified， joyful， and beautiful， how to live a life connected with loved ones. Her Book of Hygge focusses on the concepts philosophical and spiritual underpinnings rather than its quirky objects. She explains that many households in Denmark still have a copy of a folk songbook that they sing from to “affirm the ideas of simplicity， cheerfulness， reciprocity21）， community， and belonging.” Danes， she says， prefer to gather in small groups “to emphasize the unity of their inner circles.” She admits that this can make them appear “intimidating and impenetrable.” These tendencies lend hygge its contradictions： What many see as humble， decent， and community-oriented may appear to others as insular22） and a rejection of whats different and unfamiliar. Scandinavia has a reputation for tolerance， but all three countries are tense over immigration these days and have seen surging support for far-right groups. Bo Lidegaard， a Danish historian， told the Times in September that many Danes feel strongly that “we are a multiethnic society … but we are not and should never become a multicultural society.” Hygge encourages its practitioners to shelter， cluster， and enclose.

The most striking thing about hygge， though， might be how its proponents tend to take prosperity for granted. All the encouragements toward superior handicrafts and Scandinavian design， the accounts of daily fireside gatherings and freshly baked pastries assume a certain level of material wealth and an abundance of leisure time. As a life philosophy， hygge is unabashedly bourgeois， and American readers of a certain stripe23） will be familiar with its hallmark images—still-lifes of hands cradling a mug， candles lit at dusk on a picnic table， bikes with woven baskets and child safety seats leaning against a colorful brick wall. Artisanal this and homemade that， fetishizing whats rustic as authentic， whats simple as sophisticated： Urban American sophisticates already know this aesthetic； weve aspired to it for a long time.

What many Americans do not aspire to is Scandinavias high taxes or socialist ideas. When transferred to the United States， the kind of understated luxury that Danes consider a shared national trait starts to seem like little more than a symbol of economic status—the very thing that Scandinavian countries have sought to jettison24）. Still， there are some lessons from hygge that Americans might heed25）. Theres the Nordic insistence on knowing how to do practical things and doing them well， on taking care of your body with time outdoors every day. The hard-earned lesson of frigid Scandinavian winters is that theres no such thing as bad weather， only unsuitable clothes—that all you really need to get through difficult times is shelter and sustenance， kith and kin26）.

《牛津词典》2016“年度词汇”入选词语中充斥着许多人们宁愿其不必存在的新词：“另类右翼”“英国脱欧支持者”以及今年（编注：英文原文发表于2016年12月）获选的“后真相”。不过，入选榜单中倒是有个词给人带来了些慰藉——hygge。这个丹麦语词汇的意思是“一种惬意、舒适、快活的品质，能让人产生满足感或幸福感”。这个词读作“hoo-guh”，英文中没有直接的翻译，虽然cozy （中文意思：舒适的）和它意思接近。

该词从16世纪的挪威语单词hugga演变而来，意为“使舒适”或“安慰（某人）”，和英文单词hug （中文意思：拥抱）有一定关联。Hygge让人联想到放松、享受和感恩，长期以来一直被视为丹麦国民性格的一部分。1957年刊登在《纽约客》上的《哥本哈根来信》一文中，作者罗伯特·夏普兰描述了这座城市“无处不在”的hygge文化：“人行道上随处可见hygge的人们，每个人脸上都洋溢着笑容，大家互相脱帽打招呼。他们看到陌生人时流露出的神情表明，他们希望熟识对方，从而也能脱帽与其打招呼。”

过去的一年，这种斯堪的纳维亚人追求舒适生活的理念已经风靡全球。今年美国出版了至少六本关于hygge的书，2017年还会出版更多。英国记者海伦·拉塞尔著有《像丹麦人一样生活的一年》一书，书中将hygge定义为“在柔和、使人平静的事物中享受快乐”，比如喝上一杯刚刚煮好的咖啡，或是穿上开斯米羊毛袜。