Editorial
GOING FOR COZY
I ’ m cold almost all the time . I ’ m one of those people .
As a warmth-challenged individual , I found the concept of hygge immediately appealing . Never mind that concepts rarely translate precisely from one language / culture to the next , or that conflicting versions of the word ’ s language / culture of origin are rife — is it Danish ? Norwegian ? Something Scandinavian . Its sudden international popularity did seem to coincide with the growing fascination with all things Scandinavian , from humane educational policies to schlicht design concepts to murder mysteries in which gloomy people drink lots of black coffee in the semi-dark . Not so cozy on the face of it . But then there ’ s this wonderful word , reading like the name of an Ikea bed and sounding like a cutesy pronunciation of hug , and our snuggle-bereft population just cozied right up to it . I know I ’ m drawn to anything that promises to make me warm .
It goes beyond warm , of course . After all , a hot tub is warm , but one is always anticipating that chilly blast when one gets out . Also , you don ’ t want to fall asleep in a hot tub , and I have the feeling that true hyggosity ( I just made that word up ) is conducive to drifting off . But that may just be my take on it .
PHOTO BY MASON JANE MILAM
Like true love and pornography , hygge may be one of those vaguely defined things : you know it when you see it . Or feel it . My own version is fairly standard . We have one of those oven / fireplace things , and we make a lot of fires . We toss big pillows on the floor in front of it , and we pile ourselves on them and read or diddle around on our phones or chitchat aimlessly . We drink big mugs of silly notquite teas ( Winterpunsch , apple caramel vanilla bouquet ). Our fluffy dog joins the heap . Someone sleepily demands head scratchies . Our teenager shows a funny video on her phone . I am , blissfully , warm for the first time all day , in every possible way .
There should be a word for this , and now we ’ ve got one . Mistranslation or no , I ’ ll take it .
Stay cozy , everyone .
Mason Jane Milam Executive Editor
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