You Can't Buy Hygge
Questioning the commercialization of the seasons
Welcome to the Friday mailout! Friday’s simple living essays and recommendations are free for everyone but Simple and Straightforward is actually a thrice-weekly publication. Paid subscribers get access to 8-week simple living courses (one lesson sent out every Monday) and waste-reducing recipes sent out every Wednesday. Join the fun for $5 a month or save 20% with a yearly subscription and help support an independent, ad-free publication.
The Fall aesthetic is nothing new. Instagram grids have for years turned auburn, rust and forest green during the first weeks of September. Pumpkin spice lattes have been around for nearly 20 years.
But it’s getting bigger and louder, especially in places like Britain and the US. Even during August, some of my friends and family pinned up their pumpkin-hued wreaths.
Throughout my travels, I've hung out in countries with far nicer, far more quintessential Falls than the grey, drizzly days we typically experience in the UK. But it turns out that, despite the “perfect” Fall weather, most countries don’t give much of a f**k about “coziness” at all.
It's got me thinking:
Why do we love the the Fall aesthetic so much? Do you need it in order to enjoy the coziness of the season? Or is it just another way we’re being sold to?
***
Simple living is all about questioning what you previously thought was normal and that includes Fall worship. Much like Halloween that will follow, and Christmas beyond that, we’re getting to a point where Fall is less to do with actually enjoying the feeling of Hygge (that famous Danish word for a cozy feeling derived from contentment) and more to do with trying to buy our way to Hygge.
We’re talking gourd displays. We’re talking wreaths. Garlands. Soft knit blankets and woollen sweaters. Cute little tan boots and Fall-appropriate hats.
The list for what companies tell you you “need” for your “best Fall ever” goes on and on.
I’m not so sure.
First, it goes without saying that you don’t need to buy stuff to enjoy the change of seasons. I think anyone who is part of the Simple and Straightforward community will already feel that in their bones.
Second, there are some worldwide concerns that really puts the Fall aesthetic into perspective, starting with climate change.
There’s evidence to suggest thanks to climate change, our neat little 3-month long seasons will soon be dominated by Summer and Winter. In other words, Fall could fall.
It makes the Fall aesthetic a little bit…off. Here we are trying to shoehorn coziness into a season that is becoming ever hotter, shorter and less, well, Fall-like.
Then there’s the somewhat arbitrary nature of seasons, something travel really opens your eyes to.
I’ve just spent a month in Tallinn, Estonia. When we arrived in mid-August, it was hot for a nordic country - about 82 degrees. One day it rained and the temperature dropped to 50 and hovered there for the rest of our trip. My husband and I donned our walking boots and warm coats and did all quintessential Fall things like crunching our way through a forest and seeking out warm, cozy bars to while away the evenings.
On Sunday, we moved onto Tirana in Albania to meet up with some friends at a conference. As I write this, the temperature outside is 97 degrees. The sun has blazed for days and will continue to do so. The winter coat has stayed firmly in the suitcase and probably won’t come out until Christmas (I plan to hang out in southern Europe for the rest of the year).
From Fall to Summer in one 4 hour flight.
When you travel, there are no rules to seasons. You could be in 100 degree heat in November and 60 in August. Once I realized how arbitrary seasons can be, I was released from the shackles I should do this because it’s winter and I should do that because it’s Fall.
Recognising this means you can get on with doing exactly what you want, whatever time of year it is.
***
I didn’t have a “normal” Christmas for nearly a decade. When you work in hospitality as I did in my wine shop/bar, the busiest time of year is December. Whilst everyone else indulged in Christmas parties, I worked those Christmas parties.
Eventually, my business partner / husband and I didn’t even bother with a tree at home, we simply weren’t there enough to warrant a) the expense of it and b) bothering to put it up.
It may sound sucky but I loved working these periods, being out of sync with everyone else. When everyone returned work on January 2nd, we would head off on our annual vacation where everything was cheaper, quieter and way more fun.
Whilst people hibernated back in the UK, we were hanging out in southern Spain or Naples or Barcelona. I don’t say this to brag, I say this to point out that there’s a lot of freedom in forgetting about what you should be doing in any one season. Swapping summer vacations for weirder times of year is cheaper. Choosing to not hibernate during January / February breathes new life into those traditionally boring, long-winded months.
Forget about the weather. Forget about what people tell you is appropriate behavior for whatever time of year it is. It’s way more fun to reject it all, I promise.
***
Most of us who embrace a simpler life are doing it for a select number of reasons. To tread more lightly on the world. To save money, to quieten the mind, to be more intentional.
Questioning the commercialization of seasons hits all those points.
Traveling out of season lessens the pressure on resources during peak seasons. Enjoying Fall for Fall's sake without adorning your house the latest trend (it’s white ceramic pumpkins this year apparently) saves you money.
***
I’ll leave you with this thought. Last night I questioned my Danish friend about Hygge and what it means to him. He told me Hygge has literally nothing to do with coziness per se (although you can certainly feel it whilst buried under a blanket).
It’s a feeling. One of contentment, happiness and that - for a brief moment at least - all is right with the world. It can hit you at any point during the year.
The only way to truly experience Hygge is to notice it in your simple, everyday interactions and experiences.
Buying your way to it is impossible. So why bother trying?
Setting up your weekend
2 articles from my collection (paywall free)
The best pieces of content I’ve consumed this week
I’m sorry all, I’ve been at a conference all week so I’ve not had time to consume a single thing! This is perhaps, no bad thing.
Content reccos will return next week.
As I’m currently in Albania, I will finish by saying a big Faleminderit for reading.