By+Anna+Altman

在寒冷的季節(jié)，手捧一杯熱飲，裹在厚厚的毛毯里，聽著窗外狂風(fēng)呼嘯……還有什么比這更愜意的呢？對此，丹麥人有個專門的叫法——hygge。這種獨特的文化深植于丹麥人的國民性格之中，更在近年來刮起了一股席卷全球的風(fēng)潮。

The Oxford Dictionaries 2016 “word of the year” shortlist was heavy on neologisms1） that one wishes didnt have to exist： “alt-right2），” “Brexiteer，” and this years winning term， “post-truth3）.” Among the finalists， though， there was one bit of solace： “hygge，” a Danish term defined as “a quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality4） that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being.” Pronounced “hoo-guh，” the word is said to have no direct translation in English， though “cozy” comes close.

It derives from a sixteenth-century Norwegian term， hugga， meaning “to comfort” or “to console，” which is related to the English word “hug.” Associated with relaxation， indulgence， and gratitude， hygge has long been considered a part of the Danish national character. In a 1957 “Letter from Copenhagen” in The New Yorker， the writer Robert Shaplen reported that hygge was “ubiquitous” in the city： “The sidewalks are filled with smiling， hyggelige people， who keep lifting their hats to each other and who look at a stranger with an expression that indicates they wish they knew him well enough to lift their hats to him， too.”

In the past year， this concept of Scandinavian coziness has made inroads5） with an international audience. At least six books about hygge were published in the United States this year， with more to come in 2017. Helen Russell， a British journalist who wrote The Year of Living Danishly， defines the term as “taking pleasure in the presence of gentle， soothing things，” like a freshly brewed cup of coffee and cashmere socks. Signe Johansen， in a cookbook and wellness guide， How to Hygge： The Nordic Secrets to a Happy Life， links hygge to food and drink like cardamom6） buns， muesli7） “ne plus ultra8），” and triple cherry9） gl?gg10）， a Scandinavian mulled wine with cardamom pods and star anise11）； she calls it “healthy hedonism12）.” Louisa Thomsen Brits， the author of The Book of Hygge： The Danish Art of Contentment， Comfort， and Connection， calls it “a practical way of creating sanctuary in the middle of very real life” and “a cure for SAD13）”—seasonal affective disorder—“in book form.”

Winter is the most hygge time of year. It is candles， nubby14） woolens， shearling15） slippers， woven textiles， pastries， blond wood， sheepskin rugs， lattes with milk-foam hearts， and a warm fireplace. Hygge can be used as a noun， adjective， verb， or compound noun， like hyggebukser， otherwise known as that shlubby pair of pants you would never wear in public but secretly treasure. Hygge can be found in a bakery and in the dry heat of a sauna in winter， surrounded by your naked neighbors. Its wholesome and nourishing， like porridge； Danish doctors recommend “tea and hygge” as a cure for the common cold. Its possible to hygge alone， wrapped in a flannel16） blanket with a cup of tea， but the true expression of hygge is joining with loved ones in a relaxed and intimate atmosphere. In The Little Book of Hygge， the best-selling of the current crop of books， Meik Wiking， the C.E.O. of a Copenhagen think tank called the Happiness Research Institute， shares a story about a Christmas Day spent with friends in a woodsy cabin. After a hike in the snow， the friends sat around the fireplace wearing sweaters and woolen socks， listening to the crackle of the fire， and enjoying mulled wine. One of his friends asked， “Couldnt this be any more hygge？” Everyone nodded when one woman replied， “Yes， if a storm were raging outside.”

Like many of the best things from Scandinavia， hygge might seem to come with a whiff of17） smugness. The term is often mentioned in the same paragraph that reminds us that Danes （or， depending on the year， Norwegians and Swedes） are the happiest people in the world. Perhaps Scandinavians are better able to appreciate the small， hygge things in life because they already have all the big ones nailed down： free university education， social security， universal health care， efficient infrastructure， paid family leave， and at least a month of vacation a year. With those necessities secured， according to Wiking， Danes are free to become “aware of the decoupling18） between wealth and wellbeing.” “After our basic needs are met， more money doesnt lead to more happiness，” he said. “Instead， Danes are good at focusing on what brings them a better quality of life.”

This vision of restrained pleasure harmonizes with a related Swedish concept， lagom， which refers to a kind of moderation. Pronounced with a hard “G，” the term is said to come from the Viking phrase lagetom， or “around the team，” meaning that you should take only a sip of the mead19） thats being passed around so that no one is left without. Lagom means “adequate，” “just right，” or “in balance” and it is said to have burrowed deep into the Swedish national psyche， if not that of all Scandinavians. It encourages modesty and teamwork and discourages extremes. It is related to fairness， the need for consensus， and equality. Lagom is how a Swede might respond when someone asks how much milk you want in your tea or if things are going well. Hygge shares lagoms reverence for measured experience： Indulging in a piece of cake， but not outright gluttony20）； a dinner with friends at home， but nothing fancy.

Louisa Thomsen Brits， a British-Danish writer， casts hygge as a state of mindfulness： How to make essential and mundane tasks dignified， joyful， and beautiful， how to live a life connected with loved ones. Her Book of Hygge focusses on the concepts philosophical and spiritual underpinnings rather than its quirky objects. She explains that many households in Denmark still have a copy of a folk songbook that they sing from to “affirm the ideas of simplicity， cheerfulness， reciprocity21）， community， and belonging.” Danes， she says， prefer to gather in small groups “to emphasize the unity of their inner circles.” She admits that this can make them appear “intimidating and impenetrable.” These tendencies lend hygge its contradictions： What many see as humble， decent， and community-oriented may appear to others as insular22） and a rejection of whats different and unfamiliar. Scandinavia has a reputation for tolerance， but all three countries are tense over immigration these days and have seen surging support for far-right groups. Bo Lidegaard， a Danish historian， told the Times in September that many Danes feel strongly that “we are a multiethnic society … but we are not and should never become a multicultural society.” Hygge encourages its practitioners to shelter， cluster， and enclose.

The most striking thing about hygge， though， might be how its proponents tend to take prosperity for granted. All the encouragements toward superior handicrafts and Scandinavian design， the accounts of daily fireside gatherings and freshly baked pastries assume a certain level of material wealth and an abundance of leisure time. As a life philosophy， hygge is unabashedly bourgeois， and American readers of a certain stripe23） will be familiar with its hallmark images—still-lifes of hands cradling a mug， candles lit at dusk on a picnic table， bikes with woven baskets and child safety seats leaning against a colorful brick wall. Artisanal this and homemade that， fetishizing whats rustic as authentic， whats simple as sophisticated： Urban American sophisticates already know this aesthetic； weve aspired to it for a long time.

What many Americans do not aspire to is Scandinavias high taxes or socialist ideas. When transferred to the United States， the kind of understated luxury that Danes consider a shared national trait starts to seem like little more than a symbol of economic status—the very thing that Scandinavian countries have sought to jettison24）. Still， there are some lessons from hygge that Americans might heed25）. Theres the Nordic insistence on knowing how to do practical things and doing them well， on taking care of your body with time outdoors every day. The hard-earned lesson of frigid Scandinavian winters is that theres no such thing as bad weather， only unsuitable clothes—that all you really need to get through difficult times is shelter and sustenance， kith and kin26）.

《牛津詞典》2016“年度詞匯”入選詞語中充斥著許多人們寧愿其不必存在的新詞：“另類右翼”“英國脫歐支持者”以及今年（編注：英文原文發(fā)表于2016年12月）獲選的“后真相”。不過，入選榜單中倒是有個詞給人帶來了些慰藉——hygge。這個丹麥語詞匯的意思是“一種愜意、舒適、快活的品質(zhì)，能讓人產(chǎn)生滿足感或幸福感”。這個詞讀作“hoo-guh”，英文中沒有直接的翻譯，雖然cozy （中文意思：舒適的）和它意思接近。

該詞從16世紀(jì)的挪威語單詞hugga演變而來，意為“使舒適”或“安慰（某人）”，和英文單詞hug （中文意思：擁抱）有一定關(guān)聯(lián)。Hygge讓人聯(lián)想到放松、享受和感恩，長期以來一直被視為丹麥國民性格的一部分。1957年刊登在《紐約客》上的《哥本哈根來信》一文中，作者羅伯特·夏普蘭描述了這座城市“無處不在”的hygge文化：“人行道上隨處可見hygge的人們，每個人臉上都洋溢著笑容，大家互相脫帽打招呼。他們看到陌生人時流露出的神情表明，他們希望熟識對方，從而也能脫帽與其打招呼?！?/p>

過去的一年，這種斯堪的納維亞人追求舒適生活的理念已經(jīng)風(fēng)靡全球。今年美國出版了至少六本關(guān)于hygge的書，2017年還會出版更多。英國記者海倫·拉塞爾著有《像丹麥人一樣生活的一年》一書，書中將hygge定義為“在柔和、使人平靜的事物中享受快樂”，比如喝上一杯剛剛煮好的咖啡，或是穿上開斯米羊毛襪。西格納·約翰森在一本名為《如何Hygge生活：解密北歐幸福生活》的飲食與健康指南中將hygge和飲食聯(lián)系在一起：吃著豆蔻面包和頂級的穆茲利，再來杯三合一櫻桃格洛格（斯堪的納維亞一種加了小豆蔻和八角茴香的熱葡萄酒）。她稱這種生活狀態(tài)為“健康的享樂主義”?！禜ygge之書：滿足、舒適與關(guān)系的丹麥藝術(shù)》的作者路易莎·湯姆森·布里茨稱之為“在極為真實的生活中建造庇護所的切實可行之法”，以“書本的形式治療SAD─季節(jié)性情緒失調(diào)”。

冬季是一年中最hygge的時光：燭光、粗線羊毛衫、羊絨拖鞋、手工織品、酥皮點心、原木色家具、羊皮地毯、心形奶泡拿鐵以及溫暖的壁爐。Hygge可以用作名詞、形容詞、動詞或復(fù)合名詞，比如hyggebukser （譯注：bukser是丹麥語，中文意思為“褲子”），就是那種你永遠不會在公眾場合穿卻私下里十分珍惜的很難看的褲子。在面包店，你可以感受到hygge；冬天和鄰居們一起裸身蒸高溫桑拿時，你可以感受到hygge。Hygge是健康和營養(yǎng)，就像粥一樣；丹麥醫(yī)生會建議人們通過“喝熱茶并享受hygge”來治療普通感冒。獨自一人你也可以hygge：裹著法蘭絨毛毯，手捧一杯熱茶。但是hygge最真實的表現(xiàn)形式是，在輕松悠閑、舒適溫馨的氛圍中和心愛的人共度美好時光。邁克·維金是哥本哈根一家名為“幸福研究所”的智庫的CEO。他在《Hygge小書》（當(dāng)下同類書籍最暢銷的書）中講述了自己和朋友們在森林小木屋里共度圣誕節(jié)的場景：雪地遠足之后，大家穿著線衫、毛襪圍坐在火爐旁，一邊品味著熱葡萄酒，一邊聽著爐火噼啪作響。其中一位朋友問道：“沒有比這更hygge的了吧？”大家一致點頭贊同，這時一位女士答道：“有的，如果外面有暴風(fēng)雪的話，那就更hygge啦?！?

如同許多斯堪的納維亞最美好的東西一樣，hygge的出現(xiàn)可能似乎有點嘚瑟的意味。提及hygge的段落經(jīng)常也會告訴我們，丹麥人（有時是挪威人或瑞典人，因年份不同而有所變化）是世界上最幸福的人。也許斯堪的納維亞人能夠更好地享受生活中細微的hygge，因為他們所有重大的事情都得到了解決：免費的大學(xué)教育、社會保險、全民醫(yī)保、完善的基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施、帶薪探親假，以及至少一個月的年假。維金指出，因為這些生活必需的保障都到位了，丹麥人就有閑暇去“注意到物質(zhì)財富和幸福生活之間沒有關(guān)聯(lián)”。“我們的基本需求得到滿足之后，更多的錢并不會帶來更多的幸福，”他說道，“因此，丹麥人擅于關(guān)注什么能提高他們的生活品質(zhì)?！?/p>

丹麥人這種寡欲而知足的愿景，和瑞典人的生活哲學(xué)lagom相得益彰。Lagom指的是一種恰如其分的狀態(tài)。該詞中的字母g重讀，據(jù)說起源于維京語中的習(xí)慣用語lagetom，也就是around the team （中文意思：圍在一起），意思是人們在共飲蜂蜜酒時，每個人都只喝一小口就傳給下一個人，這樣大家才都能有酒喝。Lagom的意思是“適度”“剛剛好”或者“平衡”，即便該詞沒有深入所有斯堪的納維亞人的內(nèi)心，也已經(jīng)深深根植于瑞典民族的靈魂之中。Lagom提倡適度和團隊合作，反對走極端，與公平、平等及謀求共識有關(guān)。如果你問一個瑞典人“你想在茶里加多少奶？”或者“最近過得好不好？”，他可能會回答你lagom。Hygge和lagom一樣崇尚有節(jié)制的行為：享用蛋糕，但不暴食；和朋友在家中共進晚餐，但無需鋪張浪費。

英國裔丹麥作家路易莎·湯姆森·布里茨把hygge描述成一種心理狀態(tài)：如何體面地去做必需且平凡的事情，并使其充滿歡樂、異彩紛呈；如何在生活中保持與愛人良好溝通。她的《Hygge之書》主要探討了hygge這一概念的哲學(xué)內(nèi)涵和精神基礎(chǔ)，而非與hygge有關(guān)的那些特別物品。她解釋道，丹麥許多家庭仍然保留一本民歌集，時常唱里面的歌曲，以“維持簡單快樂、互相關(guān)愛、注重共識、尋求歸屬的生活理念。”丹麥人更喜歡小范圍聚在一起，以“突出他們內(nèi)部圈子的團結(jié)”，她坦言這會使他們看上去“讓人望而卻步且琢磨不透”。這些傾向增加了hygge的自相矛盾性：它在許多人眼里象征著謙卑、正派、熱愛社區(qū)，但在其他人看來可能代表著故步自封，排斥不同的或不熟悉的事物。斯堪的納維亞地區(qū)因?qū)捜荻雀叨劽?，但是丹麥、挪威及瑞典這三個國家近年來對于移民問題都很緊張，并且右翼組織的支持率大幅上升。丹麥歷史學(xué)家波·利德加9月份對《泰晤士報》記者說道，許多丹麥人強烈感受到“我們是多種族社會……但是我們不是，也永遠不會成為多元文化社會”。Hygge鼓勵踐行者尋求保護、團結(jié)一致、形成小圈子。

然而，hygge最突出的特點可能是其倡導(dǎo)者傾向于認(rèn)為富足是理所當(dāng)然的。崇尚精美的手工藝品，推崇斯堪的納維亞式的設(shè)計，每天圍爐聚會并享用新鮮出爐的酥皮點心，這些都需要一定的物質(zhì)財富和充裕的閑暇時間。Hygge作為一種生活哲學(xué)，無疑是小資的。有些美國讀者非常熟悉的標(biāo)志性hygge生活的畫面是這樣一些靜物畫面：捧著熱茶的手、野餐桌上的燭光、斜靠在彩色磚墻上帶編織籃和兒童安全座椅的自行車。手工制作這個、家庭制作那個，崇尚純樸之物，認(rèn)為其正宗，崇尚簡單之物，認(rèn)為其高級。世故的美國城市居民早就懂得這種美學(xué)；長久以來我們一直追求這種美學(xué)。

許多美國人并不追求的是斯堪的納維亞的高稅收和社會主義觀念。被丹麥人看作是其國民特性的低調(diào)奢華，到了美國就會變得像經(jīng)濟地位的象征一樣─而這恰恰是斯堪的納維亞國家一直努力予以摒棄的東西。不過，hygge生活仍然有美國人可以留心借鑒的地方：北歐人堅持學(xué)習(xí)如何做實際的事情并將其做好，愛惜自己的身體，每天都有室外活動。從斯堪的納維亞的寒冬中辛苦得來的教訓(xùn)是：沒有糟糕的天氣，只有不合時宜的服裝──渡過難關(guān)所真正需要的是住所、食物和親友。

1. neologism [?ni??l?d??z（?）m] n. 新詞

2. alt-right：即alternative right，意為“另類右翼”，指持有極端保守或反對變革觀點的意識形態(tài)組織，主要特點是反對主流政治，通過網(wǎng)絡(luò)媒體故意散布有爭議的內(nèi)容。

3. post-truth：后真相，意為“在特定的環(huán)境中，客觀事實的陳述往往不及訴諸情感更容易影響大眾民意”。

4. conviviality [k?n?v?v???l?ti] n. 快活

New Oriental English .

5. inroad [??n?r??d] n. 侵襲

6. cardamom [?kɑ?（r）d?m?m] n. 豆蔻

7. muesli [?mju?zli] n. 穆茲利（一種用碎果仁、干果、谷物加牛奶或酵母乳混合制成的早餐食物）

8. ne plus ultra：〈拉〉頂點；不可逾越的

9. triple cherry：此處指飲品中含有三種由櫻桃制成的配料，即不含酒精的櫻桃露酒（cherry cordial）、酒精濃度較高的櫻桃利口酒（cherry liqueur）和櫻桃果干（dried cherries）。

10. gl?gg [ɡl?ɡ] n. 格洛格，瑞典熱奔趣酒（一種由酒類和香料制成的熱飲料，有時配有果仁等配料）

11. star anise：八角茴香

12. hedonism [?hi?d（?）n?z?m] n. 享樂主義

13. SAD：即Seasonal Affective Disorder，季節(jié)性情緒失調(diào)，指通常發(fā)生于秋季末和冬季的一種感情失調(diào)或情緒失調(diào)。

14. nubby [?n?b?] adj. [紡]有結(jié)子的

15. shearling [????l??] n.〈主美〉羊毛襯里

16. flannel [?fl?n（?）l] n. 法蘭絨

17. a whiff of：一點點，些許

. New Oriental English

18. decoupling [di??k?p（?）l??] n. 分離

19. mead [mi?d] n. 蜂蜜酒

20. gluttony [?ɡl?t（?）ni] n. 貪吃；暴食

21. reciprocity [?res??pr?s?ti] n. 相互依存；交流；互惠

22. insular [??nsj?l?（r）] adj. 與世隔絕的；保守的

23. stripe [stra?p] n.〈主美〉類型，類別

24. jettison [?d?et?s（?）n] vt. 摒棄

25. heed [hi?d] vt. 留心；聽從

26. kith and kin：親友