Ever since the clocks went back an hour, and many of us are now facing the daily commute homewards in total darkness, I’ve begun spinning out my own semi-hibernation rituals with which many of us Northern Europeans will be all too familiar ….Oh, if only we could actually hibernate, like a grizzly bear, in a snuggly blanket with a self-filling mug of hot chocolate and a toasty fire to snooze beside.….I digress. The rituals for me include the dredging of jumpers from the back of the clothes drawer, the finding (and inevitably polishing thereof) winter boots, dusting down of the woolly hat and scarf collection, and the finding of one solitary glove…like socks, these blighters seem to want to be permanent singletons! Aside from the extra layers of clothing which signify impending Winter, I do love a good old pyro-maniacal (I don’t think that’s actually a word…) stoking of the wood-burner and setting light to all the old newspapers usually reserved for lining the Guinea Pig cage.
‘Fall’ back into winter
So, all of this change in mind-set and prep for the march of Autumn into Winter led me to thinking more about my home, and then what ‘Home’ means to me.
Home for me, is and always has been hugely important to me right from a young age. I suppose I would describe myself as very much a ‘home-body’, never wanting to be too far away from my creature comforts and my family, and to be honest, not a lot has really changed. I’d still rather be at home on more evenings of the week than out gallivanting. And like many people, admit to feeling a teeny tiny bit of ‘Yay!’ when plans are cancelled and I can legitimately avoid having to go out and socialise after all…Weird for someone who is to all intents and purposes a ‘Sunny Yellow’ extroverted type!
My favourite home words
So what words come to mind when I think of ‘Home’, and what words strike a chord with you? Here’s a little compilation of some of my favourites: Nest, Cosy, Sanctuary, Warmth, Privacy, Family, Rest… all pretty positive sounding right? Though on some days you could equally add: Chores, DIY, Noise, Stress, Chaos and Disharmony, depending on how the day has panned out for the various inhabitants of the Household.
Hygge is everywhere!
Top of the list of current ‘It’ words that could be linked with ‘Home’ is the ubiquitous Danish term ‘Hygge’. It’s everywhere, and seems to have been interpreted as many different things depending on which particular part of the retail marketing machinery is aiming to have you part with your hard-earned cash….Hygge slippers (for an eye-watering £60!), Hygge Food, Books, blankets and miscellaneous soft-furnishings…the list is endless. Even the word when pronounced correctly (like hoooogga) sounds snuggly and homely, and a little bit like a hug. The word itself seems pretty untranslatable, even for Danes who have grown up with the term woven closely into the very fabric of their society. It could mean many different things to many different people.
Perhaps that’s the point…like the word ‘Home’…which for some is a place, and yet for others an abstract, not linked to bricks and mortar or specific geography. It could equally be people, our friends, family, loved ones. Regardless of your definition, I know exactly where I want to be for the coming winter months…hunkered down with my family and a stock-pile of food and enough wood to keep the fire going strong all evening. Ahhhhhhh
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Originally posted 2016-11-27 19:57:44.
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