“To give a name to an experience is to pay attention to it,” says Louisa Thomsen Brits in her book, The Book Of Hygge.

And Brits did just that for me. Hygge is a Danish word that describes an experience that I’m familiar with and often strive for, but could never before articulate as I didn’t have a name for it.

The Danes are considered to be among the happiest people on the planet. Perhaps that’s because they have named hygge and put it into practise.

In her book Brits describes hygge (pronounced “hoo-gah) as “a quality of presence and an experience of belonging and togetherness. It’s a feeling of being warm, safe, comforted and sheltered – an experience of belonging to the moment and to each other. Hygge anchors us, reminding us to slow down, to connect with place and with one another, to dwell and savor rather than rush and spend. When you curl up by the fire with a blanket, or have a simple meal with friends, that is hygge, or when you  focus on people rather than things, or when you express love through small gestures, that is hygge.”

Isn’t that perfect? Hygge. My new favourite word for an old favourite experience.