Hygge, pronounced “hoo-gah,” is a Danish word that can most readily be described as a sort of coziness, although it’s more than that. It also comes from the word hugga, which is related to the word hug and means to comfort and console. So, it’s little surprise that it’s what keeps the Danes the happiest people on the planet even though they endure frigid winters with little daylight. Sunrise in a Copenhagen winter can be as late as 9:00 am while sunset can arrive not long after by 3:30 p.m.
Posts filed under Winter
In the Company of Cats — Ann Arbor’s First Cat Café Lets Visitors Enjoy Feline Companionship and Cat-centered Activities
The sun is just peeking over the horizon, burning off the last tendrils of early morning fog, as instructor Lisa Norgren begins teaching her yoga class. The studio is dim; a soothing fountain trickles gently in the back of the room. Students stand in front of their mats, talking softly. The room eventually becomes quiet. The cats awaken, stretch and start to roam.
The Quiet Season
With a decisive “click,” the storm windows lock into place, and the quiet season begins. The sounds outside fall distant, muffled until mid-spring. The days are cool, the nights dip toward freezing, and the easy, outdoorsy time of summer and early autumn has passed. The leaves have turned. Snow will come soon.
Root Medicine and Winter Tonics
The life force in a biannual or perennial plant is evident in the greenness of its leaves and the vibrancy of its flower. As it begins to die back in the fall, that life force is not lost; it is transferred into the root, which embraces it and keeps it safe until the next growing season.
