Reading As Hygge

Hygge has been a trendy buzzword for several years now. We most often think of it in terms of interior design styles, but I recently learned a lot more about the roots of it through reading Holy Hygge

by Jamie Erickkson. In Holy Hygge, Erickkson builds off her knowledge of Danish culture that she’s gleaned from her years spent living near her Danish husband’s family and community in Minnesota. She explains that “Hygge has become the newest definition of health and well-being, a ‘healthy hedonism.’” While Americans are pursuing hygge through scented candles, cozy blankets, and warm drinks, Erickkson says the Danish actually believe that hygge is something much deeper, consisting of seven main components: hospitality, relationships, well-being, atmosphere, comfort, contentment, and rest. She goes on to show how all seven of these are clearly outlined in Scripture, giving practical suggestions for living them out while sharing deeply theological truths that show us the why.

As I was reading her book this week, I kept thinking reading fits with every one of these things. I highly encourage you to read Holy Hygge; I cried through it and used up an entire one of my favorite pens underlining it. But if you are thinking about your current season (both the time of the year– Fall transitioning to Christmas– or perhaps a difficult season of life you’re in), and you are thinking you need those seven components listed above in your life, might I encourage you to let books be your starting place? Let me explain what this could look like for us.

1. Hospitality: I feel like our culture (both secular and Christian) has a lot of confusion around the word hospitality. What do you picture first when you think about being hospitable? Almost always we picture guests in our home being entertained. But hospitality is much deeper than this, Erickkson explains: “Hospitality wasn’t just important to the Israelites; it was a legal obligation. In accordance with the Talmud, hakhnasat orchim or the ‘bringing in of strangers’ compelled Abraham to keep all four sides of his tent open in order that he would never miss a chance to invite others to his table… While the mandate of hospitality was written in ink, the blueprint for how best to welcome the stranger was sketched lightly in pencil. For the most part, God left the specifics up to the people. His only universal demand involved the same kind of hospitality He showed to His Garden guests: food. Feed the stranger was God’s clear charge.” Hospitality is less about putting on a display of your home for others, and more about making them feel loved so that they can in turn see God’s love on display. I think all Christians feel that desire to practice Biblical hospitality, but it’s scary to know how to start and also how to continue. Two practical suggestions that both center around reading: 1) start a regular Bible study in your home. So often unbelievers aren’t ready to step foot in church until they have spent time with Christians and God’s Word outside of church. Home Bible studies provide a perfect opportunity for this. 2) Start a book club. Book clubs are a great place to get to know other women, especially because awkward lapses in conversation are easily redirected to a common topic, the book you’re reading.

2. Relationships: One of the best ways to strengthen a relationship isreading a book together. If you want to grow closer to your husband, read a book on marriage or parenting at the same time and discuss it. If you want to build a stronger relationship with your kids, read to them. I’ve used books in discipleship, and books make for an easy icebreaker when making new friends or trying to deepen a friendship. One of the reasons I’m as close to my oldest sister as I am is because we are constantly talking back and forth about books we are reading and enjoying.

3. Well-being:Erickkson explains that the Danish believe in prioritizing two types of care, self care and group care. Notice that it’s not one or the other, as our culture would sometimes have us believe. I’m not going to spend a lot of time on this one as I wrote about reading as self-care recently, but I will reiterate my argument that you can’t have true self-care if you are never growing your mind by reading. And you can’t take care of the “group” if you are depleted from never taking care of yourself.

4. Atmosphere: I’ve long ago given up on keeping all of our books in their proper places all the time. If you enter my house on any given day at any time of the day, I GUARANTEE you will see books strewn about, whether it’s the chapter book left open by one of my daughters because she couldn’t find a bookmark (don’t even get me started on WHERE ALL THE BOOKMARKS GO), or the pile of picture books my two-year-old demanded we read before we could start the school day, or the stack of read-alouds still not put away from our homeschool time, books are a constant part of our “home decor.” Personally, I love what this lends to the atmosphere in our home. Our home isn’t a museum; while I strive for basic cleanliness (please don’t judge my housekeeping on my baseboards 😬) and a “minimal-ish” lifestyle, we still do life within the four walls of our home more than we do outside of them, so it makes sense that our house is going to look “lived-in.” I remember going to a friend’s house in high school and feeling so uncomfortable because it was nauseatingly clean and well-decorated, to the point I was afraid to eat or drink anything or move the throw pillow on the couch for fear of messing it up. I’ve never wanted that for my home; I want my home to be the one where when someone spills something, we laugh, wipe it up, and go on; the one where we don’t stress about messy shoes or the dirty dishes from lunch I didn’t have time to wash before supper.

5. Comfort. Sometimes we walk through a “Winter” season where everything seems dark and lonely. In those times the only thing we can truly receive comfort from is Christ. During those seasons the last thing we may WANT to do is read God’s Word and pray, but it’s what we need the most. If you struggle with this, find some solid books that will point you back to the truth’s of God’s Word. I’m not saying to pick up a Jesus Calling devotional or read whatever newest Christian “self-help” book is out; I’m talking more about stories that reflect how God can work through difficult seasons in someone’s life. Think Christian biographies or literature that speaks to you on a deeper level. Books can bring us comfort when they point to the Author of all comfort.

6. Contentment. Contentment can be a hard pill to swallow for book-lovers. How many times have we bought another book (or three or five) when we have a full shelf of books yet to be read? I’m preaching to myself here. But I do think there can be a sweet lesson in setting aside occasional times to challenge ourselves to just read the books you have and not buy any for a while. This generation is marketed to more than any other generation has been, and readers aren’t exempt from it. It will be November in a week; what if we challenged ourselves to not buy any more books until January, and instead enjoyed reading and rereading ones we already own? This has the added benefit of freeing us up to declutter some of the books we have. If it’s still sitting on your shelf unread after two months of not buying books, maybe it’s time to get honest with yourself about whether or not you’re actually going to ever read it and let it go.

7. Rest: Finally we come to what I would consider one of the most important aspects of hygge: rest. Sabbath rest is one of the first institutions God put into place in His Word: “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done” (Genesis 2:2-3). Laura Ingalls Wilder in Little House In the Big Woods describes how reading was an important part of her family’s sabbath as a child: “On Sundays…They must sit quietly and listen while Ma read Bible stories to them, or stories about lions and tigers and white bears from Pa’s big green book, The Wonders of the Animal World…Laura liked best to look at the pictures in the big Bible, with its paper covers.” What if we gave our kids the gift of Sabbath? What if we intentionally set aside time each week where we hit pause on all the school activities, the technology, the errands, and instead we opened God’s Word together? What if we gave them time where reading was the only option? We need rest, too, as busy parents, and there’s no better place to find it than in God’s Word and a good book.

As we prepare for a busy holiday season, let’s remember that more isn’t always better and that sometimes simple is best. I’m guessing that in twenty years your kids will be more likely to remember the time spent together with books at Thanksgiving and Christmas than they will a new pumpkin-scented candle or wreath for the front door.