Hygge up north and everywhere!

Hygge up north and everywhere!

Winter in Minnesota is a time for adventure, wonder, and sharing. Yes, it is long, lasting from late October to April. Yes, it is cold, with wind chills taking bearable temps hovering around 0 degrees to a downright chilly -30 degrees. However, the sunshine after a heavy snowstorm can provide enough of a warm-up for a fun day of sledding, skiing, ice hockey, or just playing in the snow. Even snow shoveling can be an adventure. So what separates hardy native Minnesotans from more timid newcomers? Perhaps, it is the Minnesota state of mind. Bloggers agree that in order to survive (i.e. enjoy) Minnesota winters you need, among other things, hearty meals (i.e. hot dish), a cozy home, and friends. This, in current Scandinavian trend-talk, is hygge.

Scenic winter Cook County

William Cowper, a British poet, understood the concept of hygge better than anyone, even in 1785. His poem, The Task (1785), Book IV, line 120, 140-143, illustrates:

O Winter! ruler of the inverted year…/I crown thee king of intimate delights,

Fireside enjoyments, home-born happiness/And all the comforts that the lowly roof

Of undisturb'd Retirement, and the hours/Of long uninterrupted evening, know.

Winters especially provide many opportunities to sit by the fireplace and sip cocoa, read a good book or enjoy a long conversation with family or friends. Alex Beauchamp shares her life in Denmark to explain this mindset at hyggehouse.com. It is an appreciation for the simple rituals, the daily rhythms, and the people that make life special during the long dark days of winter. Read her posts to get a feel for what it looks like. Or better yet, go up north and experience it yourself in Cook County February 9-15 at the Second Annual Hygge Festival. Enjoy the outdoor activities for which Cook County is known—snowshoeing, dogsledding or snowmobiling on the local hiking trails, skiing from lodge to lodge by sun or by candle light or admiring the natural beauty of winter. Indoors, relax by a fireplace on the Winter Fireplace Tour of Cook County. Explore the fireplaces throughout the county at inns, lodges, restaurants, and resorts, and the occasional outdoor fire pit. Try your hand at knitting, learn to felt, watch spoon carving demonstrated by a local artisan at the North House Folk School yurt or simply enjoy a good meal to great music. Go here for more information.

For the directionally challenged who prefer some place closer to home, try going West to New Ulm for the German version of hygge. Festivals, family, and friends seem to be the order of the day in New Ulm. On February 9-10 they will celebrate Mardi Gras with the old carnival tradition of Fasching. There will be music, dancing, food, and costumed characters at the Best Western Plus as well as parading around town. Friday come watch the Narren capture the Mayor and join them in the Public Library Saturday morning. For days and times of these family friendly events, go here. For the over-21 crowd, there is Schell’s Bock Festival on Saturday, March 3. They gather around a big bonfire with hundreds of their closest friends on “the grounds of the August Schell Brewery, the second-oldest family-owned brewery in the US and the largest brewery in MN.” Together, they enjoy the music, the taste of the best beer brewed there, and, perhaps a brat or two, by the warm bonfire and enter into the search on the grounds and park nearby for the seven bocks of winter.

Wherever you go, North, West, or home, embrace the fun of the outdoors unique to your state and the warmth of the indoors unique to you in this special season of winter.

CREDIT: ideas4homes.com

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