hygge
/ˈh(j)uːɡə,ˈhʊɡə/
noun
1. a quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being (regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture).
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In February of 2017, Judith Newman of The New York Times wrote a piece titled “Hygge is where the heart is.” It was an ode to the Danish concept that encompasses an entire way of living that promises warmth, safety and community; and even now this idea resonates in me while I peruse the streets of Copenhagen with the weirdest music selection on my Spotify playlist.
It’s a combination of Dean Martin’s “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” “Nights With You” by singer and songwriter MØ and “Gi’r Du Et Knus” by ’80s Danish girl group Snapshot. It’s a juxtaposition that is there just to set my mood for a trip that is not failing to trigger memories of a clumsy cosiness I have never experienced but always dreamt of as a teenager, it’s a complex of washed-out hues and hints of an act of rebellion that tingles my imagination and fantasy.
It’s the feeling of an ongoing secret party that timidly echoes in the streets and it’s just asking for you to find its location. I suddenly feel the desire to rock a mullet, wear a vintage leather jacket and give someone the middle finger while I bite on the most buttery pastry of all time.
This Schön! online exclusive has been produced by
photography. Vincent Urbani
words. Paolo Maurizio Talanti
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