Let's have some Hygge!

While I was in Tahoe, I decided to go ahead and contact the symphony back home to volunteer at their concerts, which are performed in three local cities.  I was very happy to receive a positive response almost immediately from Medford, the closest venue to home.  Call as soon as you return the gal instructed, and so I had my 4-hour orientation last week at the Craterian Theater (both of us chatty, thank goodness.)

It wasn't until we'd almost finished that I figured out I would not, in fact, be a volunteer for the Rogue Valley Symphony, which performs at the Craterian and will be on New Year's Eve, but for the theater itself.  The walls, covered with signed posters from past performers of Broadway hits, one-man shows and musical performances, never tipped me off (Bernadette Peters, Drew Carey, Drum Tao and Nunsense, to name some.)  The symphony referred my name to the Craterian, which has performances all year long and had sent out an S.O.S. for volunteers.  Fine with me.

So over the weekend I was an usher during Disney’s Frozen Jr., a one-hour adaptation of the original, performed by TMTO, the Teen Musical Theater of Oregon, who were fabulous.  I didn't know anything about the first storyline and now Frozen II is out (which I must see).  It's a sweetly-odd fairy tale, but after two performances one particular song is stuck in my head: Hygge, pronounced Hue-gah (ask your kids or grandkids), and it goes something like this:

Hygge, hygge, hygge, hy-gge

Hygge, hygge, hygge, hy-gge…

For the most part.  I looked up the word and found this bit on Country Living:

“This Danish concept cannot be translated to one single word, but If you've ever enjoyed reading a book indoors on a rainy Sunday or a cup of hot cocoa on a snowy day, you've experienced hygge without even knowing it.”

From elsewhere: It encompasses a feeling of contentment and well-being through enjoying the simple things in life.  There's even music for a hygge-good time.

Before the start of yesterday’s Celtic Christmas performance, I was having a fun chat with a couple a bit younger than me, not that it matters.  When I mentioned Frozen and the song stuck in my head, they laughed and told me they’d just taken the Christmas Trolley to see the home light show (??), during which the Hygge song began.

“Every kid on the trolley knew the words, plus every verse of Frosty the Snowman.”

We all agreed not knowing more than one and I'm shaky on that.  So in the spirit of the holidays (Happy Hanukkah), here are some suggested ways to live Hygge (from a Google search):

* Light Some Candles. Ask any Danish person and they'll tell you that the easiest way to create a hyggelig atmosphere is with candles.
* Light a Fire. If a tiny candle flame is cozy, a fire is even cozier.
* Put on Comfy Clothes
* Take a Walk
* Ride a Bike
* Share a Meal
* Drink Something Hot
* Read a Book

Just think about it a little, and Happy Hygge!