Kawaii Culture Is Actually Hygge

Hi friends!

How are you? I'm good thanks. Just stopping in here to share something with you, while my candy cane inspired nails are drying.

So I work part-time in a retail store, that sends out email coupons sometimes to customers. I signed up, and with it being the Christmas season, there was a recent email with a photo of a woman wearing very cozy PJs, and grinning while she held a cup of hot cocoa. There was a caption that said something like "rock your inner hygge".

'Hmmm...' I wondered to myself. What is 'hygge'? Some sort of buzzword in Western society right now, it seemed. And being that I work for the store chain that sent this out, I should know the meaning. So I Googled it, and was pleasantly surprised.




Hygge (pronounced 'Hue-gah') is a part of Danish culture, which is most closely translated to a feeling of 'comfort, contentment, and coziness'. Because of Denmark's geographical location, the climate is often very chilly and so the people who live there, spend much time wearing cozy clothing, sitting with friends in warm indoor environments and enjoying delicious warm beverages - I think it's probably a lot like what we feel and do during the Christmas season in North America.

Though, unlike 'kawaii', hygge isn't a specific style, type of clothes, food, or home decor - it is a very specific feeling of being 'at peace' where you are, in the moment.

And that is exactly the reason why I'd like to be bold enough to suggest to you, that the feeling we all get from seeing kawaii cuteness - such as flying Hello Kitty Airlines, or wearing 6%DokiDoki clothing - is a form of hygge feeling.

A feeling of contentment, inner warmth, comfort and peace, from the simplicity that is kawaii.

Most recently, an example of a true inner hygge feeling here on this blog, was the fireplace personality quiz [a few posts down from this one]. I always feel at peace when gazing at the dancing fire and feeling it's warmth. Anything warm makes me happy, actually. Whether it's a cuddly hug, a soft sweater, a hot cup of mocha, or an electric blanket.



Anyhow, this warm fuzzy feeling has got me smiling from within, like The Grinch when his heart grows more sizes. Of course, I wasn't a Grinch before - I've always adored Christmas! It's the best time of the year! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧



And before I go, just wanted to share the candy cane nails with you:

You'll Need:

• A light colored nail polish
• Red nail polish
• Clear top coat
• Nail dotting tool

You'll Do:

• Do 1 or 2 coats of the light one; you can use dry shampoo or even cold water if you don't have a nail dryer to speed things up for you.
• Open the red polish and touch the nail dotting tool to the brush and get 'just enough' polish to make 3 or 4 thin lines, diagonally on your nail. 
• Once dry, apply a clear top coat.
• The whole thing takes half an hour at most :)