Though the announcement political terms “Brexit” and “Trumpism” had been named by Collins English Dictionary as the words of the year may have been entirely expected, it was more surprising to see the term “hygge” crop up on the list.

For those not familiar, “hygge” refers to the Danish lifestyle craze that’s seen something of an international hysteria of late, a concept roughly described as a feeling of comfort and contentment, as well as indulging in all the good things and people in your life.

It’s one often connected to the idea that the Danes are the happiest people in the world, and that it’s “hygge” that provides the secret to their success.

The craze has focused largely on the idea of making the ordinary special, or meaningful, through ritualizing everyday activities such as making a cup of coffee or having dinner. That means putting technology to one side, and embracing simple practices such as lighting candles, purchasing flowers, or brewing real tea in china cups.

Of course, Denmark’s use of “hygge” is particularly useful in combating the country’s harsh winters, with up to 17 hours of darkness a day potentially having deeply adverse effects on the mental health of its citizens.

Susanne Nilsson, a Danish lecturer at London’s Morley College, explained to the BBC, “We have long, cold winters in Denmark. That influences things. Hygge doesn’t have to be a winter-only thing, but the weather isn’t that good for much of the year.”

“Hygge could be families and friends getting together for a meal, with the lighting dimmed, or it could be time spent on your own reading a good book,” she added.

“It works best when there’s not too large an empty space around the person or people.”

The word hygge didn’t actually originate from the Danish language, but from Norwegian, where the word originally meant something similar to “well-being.”

However, it spread to Denmark in the 18th century and has since become an integral part of the country’s culture and self-identity.

柯林斯英语大词典将Brexit（英国脱欧）和Trumpism（特朗普主义）这两个政治名词列入年度热词行列完全在人们的意料之中，但hygge一词的入榜就让人有些意外了。

也许你不熟悉这个词，其实hygge指的是最近全世界狂热追求的一种丹麦生活方

式，这一概念大致是指舒适和满足的感觉，沉迷于生活中美好的人和事当中。

这经常让人联想到世界上最幸福的是丹麦人，而丹麦幸福的秘诀就是hygge。

对这种生活方式的追求很大程度上是将煮咖啡、吃晚餐等日常活动变成一种仪式，让普通的事变得特别或有意义。也就是说，把科技扔一边，去做些简单的事，比如点蜡烛、买花，或是用瓷杯茶叶泡杯茶。

当然，为了对抗严冬，丹麦人的hygge就尤其有用了，冬天这个国家接近17小时的黑夜很可能会对人们的心理健康造成极大的负面影响。

伦敦莫利学院的丹麦讲师苏珊娜•尼尔森对BBC记者说：“丹麦的冬天又冷又长，所以对很多事有影响。Hygge不是冬天专有的现象，但一年中很多时候天气都不怎么好。”

“Hygge可以是灯影阑珊下家人朋友相聚吃饭，也可以是自己花时间读一本好书。”她补充道。

“Hygge最好在不那么空旷的地方进行。”

Hygge原本并不是丹麦语，而是挪威

语，含义与“幸福”相似。

但18世纪传入丹麦后，它就成为丹麦文化和身份认同中不可分割的一部分了。

(Chinadaily.com.cn)

    Words to Learn 相关词汇

   【歇斯底里】xiēsīdǐlǐ hysteria any frenzied emotional state

    【负面的】fùmiàn de adverse unfavorable or antagonistic in purpose or effect