Beat the Minnesota Winter Blues w/ This Scandinavian Tradition

We're currently experiencing the gloomiest January in over 50 years, which makes the winter blues worse than ever. And we still have about 3 months of winter left! So how can we beat these winter blues? How about adopting this Scandinavian tradition called hygge (pronounced hue-guh).

KARE 11 has a definition of hygge for us: "a feeling of comfort, contentment and coziness in many Scandinavian countries, but it's grown in recent years to become an entire lifestyle movement." They spoke with Natalie Conrad who is the communications manager for Minneapolis Northwest Tourism about hygge in Minnesota.

Here is a list of ideas to adopt the hygge lifestyle that Natalie gave KARE 11:

Hygge in bakeries

Nothing is better than grabbing a warm cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate, a delicious bakery item, and cozying up to a fireplace.

Hygge in shops

There are tons of shops in Minnesota that fit the hygge style. Any shop selling cozy blankets, clothing, candles, etc. is exactly what you need.

Hygge in the outdoors

Spend time enjoying the outdoors and, as KARE 11 writes, enjoying "all of winter's outdoor charm." You can go ice skating, skiing, snowboarding, and afterward warming up inside, ideally by a fireplace, hot chocolate in hand and a warm blanket around you.

And another big thing about hygge is it's important to do these things with others as well. I think this hygge lifestyle is something I can get behind!

If the video below doesn't work for you, check it out HERE.