Chestnuts sizzling on the fire, cookies fragrant in the oven, a blanket casually draped over the sofa inviting you to sit down—coziness and holiday spirit are closely linked.

Retailers know this well, and the industry's tradition ofsending out product catalogs during the holiday seasonis proof. Between the glossy pages, there are crackling flames, steaming cocoa, cozy sweaters, and a suggestion—that if you buy the right products, you too can have this happiness.

In recent years, the Scandinavian word "hygge" has entered the American consumer's vocabulary, used to capture the particular satisfaction of the holiday season. Many consider 2016 asthe year hygge became popular in the United States. That same year, Mike Wiking, CEO and founder of the Happiness Research Institute, published "The Little Book of Hygge." So, how does he define hygge?

"Hygge has been called 'the art of creating intimacy,' 'coziness of the soul,' or 'cocoa by candlelight.' Its key elements include togetherness, relaxation, indulgence, presence, and comfort," Wiking said in an email. "In my view, the true essence of hygge is the pursuit of everyday happiness. It's like a hug, just without the physical contact."

Hygge is not limited to the holidays, but Wiking points out that "winter is its peak season." Wiking never mentions products or purchases, but attempts to sell or buy hygge are still endless. Consumers can buy"The Hygge Game", choose a "hygge gift box, or visit stores named after hygge, such as Hygge Life or Hygge & West.

During the holiday season, broader retailers can be said to start promoting the concept of hygge, whether or not they use the term. This stems in part from the long-standing connection between Christmas and consumerism, linking the holiday spirit, togetherness, and the purchase of gifts. The tendency to gather with family during the holidays is one of the core tenets of hygge.

"Hygge is a driver of everyday happiness and can be practiced in any form of community. Many people spend a lot of time with those closest to them, and it is these social connections that create the link between hygge and happiness," Wiking said.

The world has long agreed that money can't buy happiness (at leastbeyond a certain income level). But can you buy hygge?

Chestnuts (5-ounce pack, $4.99) roasting over an open flame (tabletop fire pit, $36.99)

To explore how retailers market a concept like hygge at this time of year—which seems in many ways to run counter to consumerism—look no further than Christmas, a holiday rooted in joy, togetherness, and—shopping. Lots of shopping. A Deloitte report from October predicts that,holiday shoppers will spend an average of $1,652。

The era when Christmas was seen as a purely religious holiday is long gone. Russ Belk, a business professor at York University who studies gift-giving and materialism, says Christmas has been called the first "global consumer holiday" because it is widely embraced beyond its religious context. According to Belk, the tension between religious holidays and commercialism has existed for centuries.

Even during the ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia in December, "there were people criticizing overeating, excessive gift-giving, and extravagance," Belk said. "During the darkest time of the year, we want something delightful; the colors of Christmas and certain rituals bring that feeling, but at the same time, loosening the purse strings, indulging in consumption, celebrating, eating, and drinking are also ways we please ourselves. So there is this tension."

According to Belk, this tension became particularly pronounced in the 19th century. Christmas celebrations in England "nearly died out," but then department stores began promoting the holiday with special merchandise and elaborate window displays. Today,elaborately designed window displays and product arrangementsremain a strategy for department stores to attract customers during the holiday season, although some of these themes reflect the less consumerist aspects of the holiday.

For example, Macy's had a window display last year showing a polar bear family knitting their own clothes together, while its Herald Square flagship store promoted a message of "giving love." In fact, the entire window theme focused on "how we celebrate the holidays with our loved ones." This message doesn't quite align with the astronomical levels of purchasing that occur in the fourth quarter—and that retailers encourage. But it does sound a lot like hygge.

Many of the images and themes retailers use to encourage purchases during the holiday season still stem from an older, more social version of the holiday—a simpler, perhaps more hygge, era.

"Contemporary families are not 19th-century families, but we like to imagine—horse-drawn sleighs heading to grandmother's house through the snow, searching for turkey and mistletoe, and all the things you'd expect to associate with Christmas," Belk said. "This stereotype is powerful. Even if we might outwardly reject it, it can still touch us deep inside and get us into the Christmas spirit."

In terms of marketing, hygge is "photogenic and easy to use in promotions," Veronika Zavrelova, a professor at NYU Prague, wrote ina 2017 article. Indeed, Instagram accounts dedicated to the hygge lifestyle are easy to find. They showcase inspiring home decor arrangements, beautiful coffee photos—andsponsored posts promoting productsthat might also make your life more hygge.

"Who can resist photos showing carefully arranged flowers and homemade bread?" Zavrelova said. "The essence of 'hygge' can be depicted with appealing objects, but simplicity is key to avoid giving an impression of exclusivity and wealth."

Hygge aligns with the core values of the holidays and serves as an effective lure to get consumers to spend, but ultimately, hygge "is a feeling," influenced by togetherness, indulgence, and comfort, Wiking said.

"So you can buy some 'hyggeligt' accessories, but without the right feeling, those accessories won't bring you hygge," Wiking said. "I think overall, the younger generation has less interest in material possessions. I think they realize that the previous generation has been looking for happiness in the wrong places to some extent."

The perfect gift

For The Hygge Company, selling "hygge" means selling a certain lifestyle. The company aims to "curate products that help generate a feeling of hygge," owner Tracy Pickwell said in an email. Founded during the pandemic, it is a tribute to the Danish lifestyle, mindfulness, and the desire to embrace winter.

"There is so much noise every Christmas, but hygge is not about materialism or hype. It's about getting back to basics," Pickwell said. "Life is too busy for many people, and we often lose our way. The pandemic caused many to recalibrate, helping us refocus our priorities and realize that less is more."

How does The Hygge Company balance this philosophy with running a retail business? Partly in how the company sources products and what it sells.The online store sells gratitude journals, blankets, diffusers, candles, and similar items—objects designed to enhance the feeling of hygge.

"The perfect gift should be unexpected. It should be something you truly see in the other person's heart that they don't even know about themselves, but is actually what they deeply want."

— Russ Belk, Professor of Business at York University

The Hygge Company sources products from places that align with its brand values, such as being environmentally friendly. Pickwell describes its suppliers as "a small group of talented manufacturers from the UK and Scandinavia, ensuring we know the journey of every product from start to finish."

In Zavrelova's article, the definition of hygge is related to the idea of living a "good life" in various everyday ways. Zavrelova gives examples like being able to enjoy a coffee break during the workday, or having a healthy work-life balance that supports meaningful time with family.

Hygge is "the ability to enjoy the simple expressions of ordinary life, beauty and simplicity without artifice, inner peace rather than external excitement, humility rather than superficial luxury."

In that sense, the potential list of "hygge" purchases would be very limited. Of course, the possibility of self-indulgence and overconsumption during the holidays doesn't fit. But what about gift-giving?

"Research shows that spending on others brings greater happiness than buying similar items for oneself," Wiking said. "The joy of making others happy may be the overlap."

However, this doesn't necessarily mean all gifts bring hygge. Belk, who has studied global differences in gift-giving, notes that in Japan, certain holidays are "obligatory" gift-giving occasions where consumers must give gifts to bosses, teachers, or other figures. These gifts are "not given out of love or goodwill," and Christmas in Japan is an opportunity to give gifts to people of one's choosing, making the holiday and the gifts more special.

The thought put into gift-giving also affects the meaning of the exchange. According to Belk, homemade gifts were once seen as inferior to store-bought ones, but now "if someone makes us a gift, rather than just buying it online, it's delightful." The rise of marketplaces like Etsy also reflects this idea, as shoppers seek more unique products to give to loved ones.

A Kearney report from last year found thatpeople have complex views on gift-giving, with 66% of respondents under 45 saying gift-giving is "at least somewhat wasteful." But shoppers in that group also expressed interest in making gifts more personal and were twice as likely to make gifts themselves. If you're looking for hygge in the holiday shopping rush, it's in the details.

"The perfect gift should be unexpected. It should be something you truly see in the other person's heart that they don't even know about themselves, but is actually what they deeply want—and would never buy for themselves," Belk said. "And you give it out of love, and you make a sacrifice."

Belk cites O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi," in which Della sells her hair to buy Jim a gold watch chain, only to learn that Jim sold his watch to buy her a set of combs she can no longer use.

"It doesn't matter that the gifts are actually useless," Belk said, "because they say everything symbolically."