Weather With You
July 5th, 2007 by Anindita Sengupta
Did you know that “hygge” is an integral part of Danish culture? There’s no exact translation for hygge, which is pronounced hu-gah. The word incorporates a multitude of fuzzy, feel-good concepts–cozy sofas, candle light, a steaming cup of hot chocolate, or a glass of warm red wine, bonhomie and intimate conversations with friends. According to this website, some refer to hygge as the Art of Creating Intimacy (with yourself, friends and home). Delightful idea, isn’t it?
The story goes that Danes developed the concept of hygge as a way of dealing with the long, dark winter months from October to March. What started off as survival mechanism gradually evolved into an art form. The Germans have a concept called gemütlichkeit, which means very similar things, while the Dutch have gezellig and the Russians ujut. Apparently, there are words for the same concept in Sweden and the Netherlands as well. All of these are countries that face severe winters and have to actively guard against Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
I haven’t come across any equivalent words in tropical countries. It stands to reason that people in hotter places will be less eager to light candles or sink into warm fabric of any sort. Instead, there is an abiding romanticism about the rain. Songs and poems about rain abound (although Hollywood is not exempt from this either). In Botswana, the Setswana word for rain, pula, is used as the name of the national currency.
The weather channel is commonly considered rather boring but it’s hard to deny the ways in which we are affected by the sun’s heat, the lash of rain, the ways of the wind. Not everyone discusses the weather with the same enthusiasm as the Brits, but it finds its way into our language all the same. Reminds me of that old Crowded House song (Everywhere you go you always take the weather with you).
Are there unique ways that the weather has affected your culture? Special words that talk about climate? Social phenomena born from seasonal ones?