Hygge helps us to communicate what it's like to be human; it is part of a global vocabulary that speaks to our humanity and addresses our basic human need to belong. It's an old word for a new language that we are beginning to explore in order to share values common to us all.

The secret to hygge lies in paying attention to the rhythm of our daily lives, the people we choose to spend time with, the things we use and the activities we undertake that give life value and meaning.

Hygge is a practice related to how we create and preserve meaning in the places we inhabit, how we make homes that comfort us and bring us together. ...then we begin to really inhabit a place or a moment in time and open ourselves to what it has to give.

The way that we hygger and offer reassurance is unique to each of us according to the things to which we attach most meaning. Some of us nourish others by cooking. Some offer comfort in conversation or good-natured humour. Others are adept at creating an easy ambience through which hygge flows.