Hygge preacher shares Danish wisdom in China, meeting popular lifestyle halfway

“Imagine a storm growling outside and you are talking and drinking wine with your friends. How do you feel?”

A hypnagogic coziness lingered around every audience’s mind after Meik Wiking, a known Danish writer and founder of the Happiness Research Institute, gave his speech at the Danish Embassy’s first ever Christmas Fair in Beijing on Wednesday.

Such a feeling, to Wiking, is part of Hygge. “Hygge is the art of creating a pleasant atmosphere,” Wiking explained. “It is a national DNA that is deeply rooted in Danes’ daily life and Danish culture, which leads us to be a consecutive winner in the global happiness ranking.”

(Meik Wiking gives a speech Danish Embassy’s first ever Christmas Fair in Beijing on Wednesday.  Photo courtesy of the Royal Danish Embassy to Beijing)

As a preacher of happiness, Wiking’s global happiness research tour reaped two books: The Little Book of Hygge and The Little Book of Lykke, both of which have been translated into 38 languages including Chinese, making the Danish word "hygge" a world-wide trend.

“China experienced a rapid growth in the last decade and is witnessing the ten years of strategic relationship (partnership) with Denmark. My colleagues and I see China as one of the key research objectives in our happiness research tour in the upcoming years, especially when China plays an increasingly important role on the world stage,” Wiking told People’s Daily Overseas Social Media during his first visit to Beijing.

The increase of wealth has not directly lead to happiness, which is a universal phenomenon, Wiking pointed out, adding that it is his job and the job of any nation to efficiently turn wealth into wellbeing.

“China’s economic performance in the past four decades is stunning, in terms of eliminating poverty and extending life expectancy. However, people expect more inner peace when they hit the ceiling either in their life or work. Hygge is a wisdom from Danes, which China can learn from as an inclusive nation,” Cheng Fangyuan, a famous Chinese musician, who also listened to Wiking’s speech on Wednesday, told People’s Daily Overseas Social Media.

(Photo courtesy of the Royal Danish Embassy to Beijing)

In fact, happiness is easy to gain in China, Wiking noted, raising the example of eating Peking Duck in the hospitable city.

The notion of hygge echoes with the Chinese term “xiao que xin,” meaning an ordinary and genuine happiness, which has become a popular lifestyle among young Chinese people in recent years.

Some believe that the daily ritual of creating happiness and a pleasant atmosphere help soothe the stressful life of China’s young generation in a positive way. However, others think that too much “xiao que xin” or hygge, implies, at least to some extent, an uncertain and lazy life attitude.

Wiking is mostly concerned about the “virtual hygge” on social media, which is used to show off a quality of life. “Social comparison is bad for our satisfaction with life, which creates envy and stress, perhaps even depression. Social media consistently provides us good news about everybody else. We need to be conscious of how social media can distort our perception of reality,” he concluded.