Say Ja to Hygge! - How to find Your Special Cosy Place (HB)

A parody guide to hygge by the fictional Dr. Olsensen, director of the Institute of Wellbeing in Aarhus! The Danish hygge (pronounced 'huhhpg-ghuhrr') lifestyle is all about feeling snug, gentle, warm and satisfied - ideally, self-satisfied. Find out in this essential guide how you too can achieve this cosy nirvana. How should you go about finding your special cosy place? Let Dr. Magnus Olsensen be your guide to finding hygge in every area of your life - from the office to the bedroom. Let's picture a thoroughly hyggelig scene: a couple curled up on a light-grey sofa. She is wearing one of his shirts and socks which reach to her knees. He is wearing a cable-knit cardigan and gingham pyjama bottoms. Light is provided by the flicker of the television showing "Sunrise Over Søndervig" - the 1930s plotless classic. There are candles on almost every surface. The couple squint attractively in the gloom, holding hands while eating fermented årsfish. Two pairs of muddy boots sit together by the backdoor, themselves a picture of hygge-ness. Outside, the wind is beginning to moan. What makes this pleasing scene so hygge? There are several elements, but the most important is the fact that they are inside - warm, content and cosy - having been outside. Those boots were a clue! Like yin and yang or Bamse and Kylling, one can only fully appreciate something when one understands what it is not. Being Danish would be less enjoyable, for example, if it were not for the Norwegians. For some, achieving hygge will come easily. Others may have to work a little harder. But if you put in the hours - and follow the guidance in Say Ja to Hygge! - you too can become hyggelightened. You will have become, in spirit, Danish. And - as the old song goes - there is nothing like a Dane!