Life’s Little Indulgences

On my visit to Denmark and other Scandinavian countries like Finland and Norway, I wondered how these countries have been at the top of the happiness index charts for five consecutive years. Upon chatting with some Finnish, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish people, and doing a bit of a research, I found several reasons for why this was so. I happened to stumble across an interesting Danish concept of Hygges (pronounced hyoo-ga). It loosely translates to “Cosyness of the soul”, or a feeling of wellness and contentment attained from life’s little indulgences – things like leaving our evenings free to relax, having a family dinner, or staying indoors with a hot cup of cocoa.

Walking down the streets of Copenhagen, I saw every little café with blankets on the tables and fireplaces on the sides to keep us warm – a cosy city indeed! My family and I spend every weekend…