tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/hygge-32656/articlesHygge – The Conversation2020-10-08T17:28:36Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1473102020-10-08T17:28:36Z2020-10-08T17:28:36ZThai food, living ‘hygge'… What drives us to consume products from other cultures?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361115/original/file-20201001-24-1nwkk5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C5%2C1200%2C792&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Scandinavian companies use the "hygge", a cultural concept describing comfortable and warm interiors, as a selling point.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pikrepo</span>, <a class="license" href="http://artlibre.org/licence/lal/en">FAL</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When was the last time you went out for a Thai meal, got items from the ethnic isle of a supermarket, wore a pashmina, or watched a foreign film? Many of us consume culturally-cued offerings, either recurrently or for special occasions. Irrespective of their prominence in our lives, products, services or experiences assigned with different cultural meanings can enable us to engage with, learn about and become more open toward other cultures. Therefore, we can say that consumption experiences facilitate many of our intercultural interactions.</p>
<p>Many of our contemporary societies have become multicultural, and culturally cued offerings are widely available. This makes it interesting to consider what drives people to interact with different cultures through consumption, and to ponder how product/service providers can facilitate intercultural interactions that are helpful for society.</p>
<p>We conducted a research study recently published in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0148296320302691"><em>Journal of Business Research</em></a>, consisting of 31 interviews with locally-born and migrant residents of a multicultural city in the United Kingdom. Our study reveals that three rather different types of motivations drive people to consume culturally-cued offerings. We title them integrative, instrumental and mundane motivations, as follows.</p>
<h2>Integrative motivations: identifying with an ideal social group or a worldview</h2>
<p>We found that some people choose culturally cued products as a mark of a cosmopolitan lifestyle or to show their appreciation and respect for a given community. An example would be someone choosing to eat in a Mexican restaurant to demonstrate their liking of, and association with, Mexican culture and with the broad community of humans across borders.</p>
<p>People driven by integrative motivations usually want to bring a contribution to the well-being of mankind, or to culturally different groups. They use consumption as a way to materialise and display these values. For example, one of our participants told us that through purchasing ingredients from a Japanese store, he is “also supporting that culture and that trade” and he engages in “a long chain of humanity”. Integrative motivations therefore have an altruistic and aspirational nature.</p>
<h2>Instrumental motivations: self-development and knowledge accumulation</h2>
<p>We found that people can also use culturally cued consumption because of an interest for self-development and knowledge accumulation. For example, some of the people we interviewed, who recently moved to the UK, reported that they often select the social events and activities that they participate in based on the opportunities to engage with the locals. One participant told us that they attend social activities organised by their Chinese friends, including trips and parties, in order to improve their language skills in advance of a planned move to China. </p>
<p>Participants who plan to move to a specific country in the future, whether locally-born or migrant, reported that they prepare for their move by learning about that culture beforehand through consuming some culturally-cued offerings. Others discussed “being aware” of other cultures’ customs as a required adaptation to living in culturally diverse societies. One of our participants talks about how her attitude moved from being curious and interested in exploring diversity as a way of expressing her values to being “less, I don’t want to say less sensitive, but I just get on with it, because it’s how the way life is really.”</p>
<p>By using consumption as a learning opportunity, participants in our study demonstrate an active effort for developing culturally sensitive behaviours and adapting to diverse cultural environments. These motivations have a utilitarian and self-centred nature. They evidence that people are likely to engage with cultural diversity when they perceive that it will yield individual benefits (e.g., learning new skills, extending social networks).</p>
<h2>Mundane motivations: convenience and entertainment</h2>
<p>Not all people who choose culturally cued offerings proactively seek some form of intercultural interaction. Some participants in our study expressed indifference to the cultural meanings of some consumption alternatives and simply preferred them due to their convenience. For example, they may eat dishes that are typical of other cultures, like pizzas, because they are widely available. Others appreciate culturally cued experiences simply as entertainment. For example, one may attend a Chinese New Year celebration purely as an opportunity for enjoyment, not as a means to interact with different cultures. One of our study participants described this kind of motivation thus: “You would go out for an experience, so you’d cross culture for dinner […]. I think it’s more of an experience that is entertaining experience than a lived experience”.</p>
<p>Mundane motivations demonstrate that people may choose to consume culturally cued products, services and experiences as a result of the pervasiveness of cultural diversity rather than out of any interest for it or by deliberate effort. These motivations reveal indifference toward other cultures and they demonstrate that observable consumption of culturally cued products is not always a mark of cultural openness.</p>
<h2>How do managers activate different motivations?</h2>
<p>Practitioners, such as ethnic entrepreneurs (e.g., Korean restaurant owners, African textile creators) or managers in organizations operating in multicultural markets (e.g., L'Oreal, Lustucru, La Boulangerie Paul) can activate different motivations through their marketing strategies. Public spaces can also be designed to activate different motivations. Public service leaders can purposefully encourage such strategies. For instance, Frederik Law Olmsted designed many American parks such as New York’s iconic Central Park with the intent of prompting encounters and interactions among people of different cultural origins so that they could learn from one another at a time of fast immigration and social changes, resulting in <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1206331210389268">better overall relations within cities</a>. An informed approach among public and business leaders can facilitate intercultural interactions and contribute to efforts in building cultural openness in society.</p>
<p>To activate integrative motivations, marketing campaigns may emphasize the “pro-social” nature of this behaviour over the gains that it may bring; for example, people may be reminded through advertising campaigns that they can support cultural groups or partake in that culture by purchasing their products. For instance, the Ikea website provides information on the “hygge” lifestyle originating in Denmark, in the process enabling us to “live hygge” by <a href="https://www.ikea.com/fr/fr/ideas/vivre-hygge-prendre-le-temps-de-profiter-pub78765621">purchasing the relevant items for our homes</a>. As another example, Air France’s “France is in the air” commercial, which was conceived for international markets, gives people access to a contemporary vision of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjiKjkaxaKU">perceived way of life in France</a></p>
<p>To activate instrumental motivations, marketing campaigns and employees interfacing with customers of different cultural backgrounds could stress self-benefits (such as learning); for example, product packaging may include information about a culture and their customs. Herb and spice brand Ducros provides detailed information, on their website, on the origin of spices and their <a href="https://www.ducros.fr/le-secret-des-epices/curry">different uses across cultures</a>.</p>
<h2>Victoria’s Secret mistake and how marketers can be a positive force for intercultural engagement</h2>
<p>The activation of mundane motivations is more problematic in terms of promoting positive intercultural interactions, as it is important for culturally cued offerings not to be positioned purely on convenience. This would risk disconnecting offerings from their original culture, or offending, when that culture is misrepresented for the benefit of the marketer – a phenomenon which has come to be termed cultural appropriation. For example, at a fashion show, one of the models of lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret wore a Native American headdress. This event elicited strong reactions that pointed to the problematic disconnection from the original meaning of an important object among Native American cultures, and the <a href="https://www.caminteresse.fr/economie-societe/la-coiffe-amerindienne-dune-mannequin-au-defile-de-victoria-secrets-fait-polemique-pourquoi-1154910/">disrespect toward these cultures</a>.</p>
<p>Our study demonstrates that we cannot assume that consumption of culturally cued offerings is always a mark of cultural openness. Indeed, people have various motivations for choosing them. However, marketing practitioners may activate these motivations to enable intercultural engagement.</p>
<p>The findings of our study are particularly relevant in the context of the current pandemic, when social interaction and travel are severely restricted and private or public products/services and media may be the most accessible means people have, to continue engaging with intercultural experiences. Such interactions, and their authenticity, may become even more important if we are to ensure that the growing appeal of “localism” does not inadvertently cut us off from the benefits of intercultural learning and engagement.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/147310/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>According to new research, the demand for products with cultural connotations can result from an appreciation of the culture in question, a desire for discovery… and its simple omnipresence.Catherine Demangeot, Professeure associee de marketing, IÉSEG School of ManagementCristina Galalae, Lecturer in Marketing, University of LeicesterEva Kipnis, Senior Lecturer in International Marketing, University of SheffieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1147692019-04-29T14:00:36Z2019-04-29T14:00:36ZSlow cinema: what it is and why it’s on a fast track to the mainstream in a frenetic world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271476/original/file-20190429-194630-1lsflao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C1986%2C1064&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">High Life: where slow cinema is concerned, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Thunderbird Releasing</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It feels apt that Claire Denis’s new film, <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/high-life-reviewed-claire-deniss-disappointing-journey-into-space">High Life</a> is reportedly an idea she’d been toying with for 15 years. The movie is already drawing comparison to <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/high-life-review-1141594">Solaris</a>, a science fiction film by the seminal slow cinema director Andrei Tarkovsky. </p>
<p>Denis has dabbled with slow cinema aesthetics before. Her 2009 film <a href="https://filmmakermagazine.com/16134-claire-denis-white-material/">White Material</a> portrays a struggling female coffee producer who elects not to flee an impending civil war. The cinematography revels in stillness and quietude. Denis’s characters are developed through movement and actions more than <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/05/28/the-fearless-cinema-of-claire-denis">dialogue</a>. As the modern world becomes more and more fast paced, the idea of stillness is beginning to become a more desirable commodity.</p>
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<p>Stillness is one of the hallmarks of slow cinema, along with the use of static shots, long duration shots, pans, tracking shots – as well as a narrative focus on the more mundane aspects of life. This aesthetic has garnered much praise and criticism. Paul Schrader, academic, screenwriter and director, drew attention to certain aspects of this aesthetic in his seminal book, Transcendental Style in Film. </p>
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<p>The ideas raised here have since been applied to slow cinema. In recent years, the aesthetic was used frequently within the arthouse sector, garnering critical acclaim and academic interest. But Schrader has <a href="https://nowtoronto.com/movies/features/paul-schrader-slow-cinema-is-dying-a-slow-death/">recently stated</a> that he believes “slow cinema may be running its course”.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s getting closer and closer to the art gallery and museum. It had a real interesting moment in the last 10 years, but now the novelty has worn off, and people are not as mesmerised as they were when the slowness was really being used as a new concept of film time. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is a bold statement about an aesthetic that has consistently created a polarising experience, finding its success primarily in the arthouse. Yet, the aesthetic seems to be breaking away from the arthouse sector, seeping into the mainstream in multiple areas, providing the audience with something they require.</p>
<h2>Small moments savoured</h2>
<p>At the 2019 Oscars, <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/oscars-2019-65470">Roma won awards</a> in the categories of best director, best foreign language film and best cinematography. This critically praised film clearly has slow cinema aesthetics running throughout it. There is a focus on the mundane – the small, seemingly insignificant moments in life. The opening sequence is a nine-minute shot of a women mopping the floor and walking through a house. It relies on the use of tracking shots and pans. Situations are frequently shown in long shot, allowing the audience to rove around the frame, not necessarily focusing on the protagonists.</p>
<p>Schrader would argue that Roma isn’t slow cinema – that it is still too focused on a narrative to be the purest form of the slow aesthetic. This is evident from the diagram Schrader created for a new edition of Transcendental Style in Film – the Tarkovsky Ring. The directors placed outside of the ring are the ones who create films that are least concerned with narrative as the driving force of the film.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1002913080358199297"}"></div></p>
<p>Schrader’s <a href="http://cinema-scope.com/cinema-scope-magazine/paul-schrader-deliberate-boredom-in-the-church-of-cinema/">damming opinion of them</a> is that: “There’s not much I’m going to get from Wang Bing or Béla Tarr or Lav Diaz.” (Directors who revel in stillness from China, Hungary & the Philippines). Schrader’s opinion aligns with the mainstream film industry – that narrative is the driving force of film. Yet pleasure can be derived from a slow film in a different way if audiences are willing to consider the viewing practices of film in a different way.</p>
<h2>Drinking alone, in your underwear</h2>
<p>In recent years, European practices such as Hygge have become exceedingly popular. The lesser known Dutch <em><a href="http://www.dutchamsterdam.nl/155-gezellig">gezellig</a></em> (which roughly translates as cosiness, contentment or companionship) also received some attention. At the end of last year the Finnish <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/oct/07/how-the-finnish-liftestyle-of-getting-drunk-while-wearing-pants-became-the-new-hygge"><em>kalsarikänni</em></a> (drinking at home, alone, in underwear) was being considered as the next big phenomenon. </p>
<p>All of these lifestyle movements – and countless <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/lists/christmas-alternatives-to-hygge-around-the-world/">others</a> – have one thing in common: escaping the frenetic pace of the modern world and relishing in the small things in life. It could be watching a candle flicker, cuddling in a blanket or just spending time with friends in your home. Escaping the noise of the modern world has been explored by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/sep/23/the-power-of-silence-in-the-smartphone-age">Erling Kagge</a> in his successful book, Silence: In the Age of Noise. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271481/original/file-20190429-194606-1huwn1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271481/original/file-20190429-194606-1huwn1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=324&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271481/original/file-20190429-194606-1huwn1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=324&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271481/original/file-20190429-194606-1huwn1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=324&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271481/original/file-20190429-194606-1huwn1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271481/original/file-20190429-194606-1huwn1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271481/original/file-20190429-194606-1huwn1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Robert Pattinson and Scarlet Lindsay in High Life (2018)</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Thunderbird Releasing</span></span>
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<p>Apps <a href="https://www.calm.com/">such as Calm</a> are finding popularity, allowing you to find tranquility for a few seconds within the day. Evidently there is a desire for stillness and silence, taking time to find the beauty in the normalcy of life. These desires can be fulfilled in the cinema, as long as audiences are willing to change their narrative expectations and see film in a different way.</p>
<p>Ben Rivers, a UK-based documentary and fiction filmmaker, and Anocha Suwichakornpong, a Thai independent filmmaker, two directors who favour slow cinema aesthetics, have <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/in-the-holocene#/">crowdfunded</a> their latest film In The Holocene. Roy Andersson has teased his new film at a recent Q & A, About Endlessness, which uses static <a href="https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/comment/festivals/about-endlessness-roy-andersson-new-film-seville-2019">compositions</a>. Apichatpong Weerasethakul, a Thai independent filmmaker who has garnered interest on the film festival circuit with his slow cinema aesthetic, is shooting outside of Thailand for the first time, working with Tilda Swinton on his new film, <a href="https://www.filmcomment.com/blog/news-apichatpong-weerasethakul-lisandro-alonso-rip-roeg-bertolucci/">Memoria</a>. It could be that, despite Schrader’s views, 2019 is a bumper year for slow cinema.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/introducing-lucid-dream-cinema-movies-to-watch-while-you-sleep-91195">Introducing 'lucid-dream cinema': movies to watch while you sleep</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<p>Schrader’s comments about slow cinema’s decline hold some sway, but only if you consider film purely as a narrative medium. Why can’t it also be something else? Slow cinema aesthetics are being adopted by more mainstream cinema, not just reserved for the arthouse or festival circuit. </p>
<p>People are searching for ways to escape the fast pace of the modern world and our constant connectivity. Why not find it by relishing the moments of stillness, the static shots of landscapes, the experience of ordinary people living ordinary lives, found in slow cinema.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114769/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Russell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Slow movies have until now been largely confined to arthouse cinema, for film aficionados only. Not any more.Andrew Russell, Lecturer in Film Studies, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/902532018-01-18T10:26:38Z2018-01-18T10:26:38ZSwedish death cleaning: how to declutter your home and life<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202313/original/file-20180117-53302-18u8hnf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There has been a trend in recent years, both in literature and in life, for Scandinavian concepts that are encapsulated in a single word. <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-danish-concept-of-hygge-and-why-its-their-latest-successful-export-67268">Hygge</a>, for example – which is Danish for cosiness, contentment or well-being – dominated the publishing industry in 2016.</p>
<p>Now, the new buzzword on the block is “dostadning” – a hybrid of the Swedish words “death” and “cleaning”. How much these fad words are actually a part of Scandinavian culture is debatable, but dostadning is the new phenomenon outlined in Margareta Magnusson’s <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gentle-Art-Swedish-Death-Cleaning/dp/1786891085/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1516265092&sr=1-1&keywords=the+art+of+swedish+death+cleaning">The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning</a>. In Europe, the book has already occupied a good deal of reviewing space and according to Time magazine, <a href="http://time.com/4985533/death-cleaning-declutter/">dostadning will be the hot new trend</a> stateside in 2018. </p>
<p>Magnusson’s book chimes with the current <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/deborahweinswig/2016/09/07/millennials-go-minimal-the-decluttering-lifestyle-trend-that-is-taking-over/#6c328eb83755">anxiety about clutter</a> in the 21st century. Dostadning advocates the proactive and mindful clearing out of possessions before death. The idea is that it saves relatives the onerous task of making decisions about what to keep and what to throw or give away. The book reflects the simple fact that we are all living longer lives. This results, of course, in more stuff. </p>
<h2>Digital death</h2>
<p>But it also means we have more time to get rid of things. We can start planning for our death by slimming down what we leave behind – shedding unnecessary objects in favour of what we actually need. It is the antithesis, perhaps, of the ancient Egyptian tradition of being buried with things that might accompany us into the afterlife. </p>
<p>Magnusson’s top tips for dostadning focus mostly on material possessions – though she suggests keeping a book of passwords for family so they can access online data more easily. But this is no straightforward task, given that more and more of our data – photos, letters, memories – as well as actual things – music and books – exist in digital rather than analogue form. And as more of our lives are logged and lodged virtually, chances are our relatives might not be able to access it. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202315/original/file-20180117-53320-b92na8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202315/original/file-20180117-53320-b92na8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202315/original/file-20180117-53320-b92na8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202315/original/file-20180117-53320-b92na8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202315/original/file-20180117-53320-b92na8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202315/original/file-20180117-53320-b92na8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202315/original/file-20180117-53320-b92na8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">‘Don’t mind me, just writing down all my passwords for when I die’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>A documentary about this precise issue aired recently on BBC Radio 4. <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09jf1zb">My Digital Legacy</a> was part of the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b084ys5v">We Need to Talk about Death</a> series and featured terminally ill patients with an extensive digital footprint who rely on the internet – especially on social media – to connect to the world around them. The programme also heard from bereaved relatives who experienced difficulties in accessing data, including Facebook profiles, of loved ones after their death. </p>
<h2>The death manager</h2>
<p>My recent short story <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9g0eqBdyxw">How To Curate a Life</a>, published by <a href="https://storgy.com/about/">Storgy Books</a> in the anthology Exit Earth, deals with precisely this issue. Set in the not too distant future, the parents of a young woman killed suddenly in an accident try to commission Jesse – a “digital death manager” – not to curate her life but to erase it: to gain access to her files then destroy them. </p>
<p>In this fictional world where everyone is required to dictate the terms of their digital estate, it is illegal for Jesse to tamper with the girl’s online content. And yet, the financial reward would mean freedom from his desk bound job forever. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202317/original/file-20180117-53324-19uqq8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202317/original/file-20180117-53324-19uqq8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202317/original/file-20180117-53324-19uqq8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202317/original/file-20180117-53324-19uqq8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202317/original/file-20180117-53324-19uqq8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202317/original/file-20180117-53324-19uqq8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202317/original/file-20180117-53324-19uqq8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The concept of decluttering before you die is apparently part of Swedish culture.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>The story grew from an idea I found online about careers that will be ubiquitous in the future. Digital death management, it seems, is definitely set to become “A Thing”. And just as we now commission solicitors or will writers to oversee our material estate – there will come a time when people will also hire someone to clean up their digital footprint </p>
<p>In our already busy lives, does tending to our online existence give us one more thing to do? Perhaps so. But it’s about taking responsibility for our own stuff. If we don’t make the decisions about what to keep or discard – whether actual or online – then ultimately others will need to. And if we don’t leave clear directions about where to find our digital content, it makes things tougher for everyone. </p>
<p>As Magnusson writes, death cleaning is “a permanent form of organisation that makes everyday life run smoothly”. What better legacy to leave behind than to ease the bereavement process for the ones we love?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/90253/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Connor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Dostadning is the new pre-death decluttering trend, here’s what you need to know.Rachel Connor, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing, Leeds Beckett UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/887092017-12-14T13:30:32Z2017-12-14T13:30:32ZThe Japanese concept of ikigai: why purpose might be a better goal than happiness<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198792/original/file-20171212-9389-oosgu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/asian-women-arranging-flowers-vase-762594673?src=3JOAazvYNtfW9gukdVrdiQ-1-87">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Happiness is the subject of countless quotations, slogans, self-help books and personal choices. It is also being taken seriously by national governments and organisations like the United Nations, as something <a href="http://worldhappiness.report/ed/2017/">societies should aim for</a>.</p>
<p>This political recognition makes a welcome change from long held obsessions with income and economic growth when it comes to choosing policies or measuring their success – but it is not without its faults.</p>
<p>To begin with, how do you measure and compare national happiness levels? This is particularly challenging given that people have a tendency to inaccurately evaluate their emotional states or present themselves to others in a positive light. </p>
<p>Different cultural understandings of happiness also make comparisons difficult. But understanding what makes life worthwhile in certain contexts – which may be different from happiness – can offer an alternative perspective on well-being. </p>
<p>For example, even though the Japanese language possesses several terms that could be translated as “happiness” or “happy” (including “shiawase” and “koufuku”), one that has emerged as central to that country’s understanding of a life well lived is “ikigai”.</p>
<p>The word is often translated as: “that which makes life worth living” – having a purpose in life. Examples of ikigai could include aspects related to one’s social identity, like work or family, or the pursuit of self-realisation, such as hobbies or travel, activities that are seen as ends in themselves. </p>
<p>Numerous books have been published recently on how to find one’s true ikigai. In fact, the “ikigai treatise boom” peaked in the 1970s and 1980s – perhaps as the product of two trends characterising that period. Economic prosperity and the weakening of societal values both contributed to a sense of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Japan/Economic-transformation">instability in Japan</a> at that time. </p>
<p>In the years since, after a lengthy era of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/nov/30/britains-economy-what-happened-japan">economic stagnation</a>, uncertainty in Japanese society has only increased. Today, books on ikigai appear to function more as a cultural export. </p>
<p>The idea is now often detached from its original context, and offered to foreigners as the “Japanese path to happiness”, not too dissimilar to the recent craze for the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-danish-concept-of-hygge-and-why-its-their-latest-successful-export-67268">Danish concept of “hygge”</a>. </p>
<p>It would be easy, then, to dismiss the value of ikigai as a fad, or to take it at face value and neglect its nuanced cultural meanings. Both would be a mistake in my view, as despite its limitations, the concept of ikigai still has much to offer. </p>
<p>Japanese ideas of ikigai are often gender based. Men tend to say their work or employer gives them a sense of self-worth. Women often say their sense of meaning comes from family or motherhood. Such male-female framing is not only restrictive, it also poses a problem for those who are unable to frame their life in such terms. Japanese self-help manuals are most often targeted at retired or unemployed men, or single women. </p>
<p>In this sense, ikigai appears closely related to the idea of a clearly defined social role, offering a source of identity and meaning. It might also be seen to put an emphasis on only one domain of life, at the expense of others. Seeing work as one’s ikigai might make it all too easy to neglect meaningful pursuits outside the workplace. </p>
<p>One can feel the pressure to perceive a certain domain as the source of one’s ikigai – but what happens when that domain is no longer available, or no longer brings joy? Luckily, ikigai can also change and develop. </p>
<h2>A sense of purpose</h2>
<p>Focusing on one’s own happiness can prove self-defeating. The active pursuit of happiness and a determination to be or feel happy can quickly lead to a sense of inadequacy and disappointment. In this sense, happiness as a goal might be forever out of reach, little more than a fleeting and elusive ideal. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198796/original/file-20171212-9383-1yvt64s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198796/original/file-20171212-9383-1yvt64s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198796/original/file-20171212-9383-1yvt64s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198796/original/file-20171212-9383-1yvt64s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198796/original/file-20171212-9383-1yvt64s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198796/original/file-20171212-9383-1yvt64s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198796/original/file-20171212-9383-1yvt64s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Pursuing ikigai.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success?src=-R53uh5GCLcgR4E-3slVcQ-2-97">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Yet the pursuit of other goals seen as worthwhile can lead to a sense of well-being. In this sense, ikigai, as a focus on a particular sphere of life or activity that makes life worth living, is important. It gives a sense of purpose to life, but one that need not be grand or monumental. </p>
<p>Unlike the English term “purpose in life”, ikigai need not imply large or extraordinary projects that promise to lift one above everyday experiences. Such projects can equally be located in the mundane and the humble. </p>
<p>Furthermore, as I have learned in <a href="https://www.haujournal.org/index.php/hau/article/view/hau5.3.008">my own research</a> with older Japanese, what makes ikigai effective is its inextricable link to a sense of mastery – the idea known as “chanto suru” that things should be done properly. As such, ikigai emphasises process and immersion rather than a final aim. </p>
<p>Doing something as well as you possibly can makes life more meaningful.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88709/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Iza Kavedžija received research funding from the Japan Foundation and the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science. </span></em></p>It’s all about doing things well.Iza Kavedžija, Lecturer in Anthropology, University of ExeterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/883612017-12-07T23:22:11Z2017-12-07T23:22:11ZBooks: Six comforting children’s stories for the holiday chaos<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250580/original/file-20181213-178552-6v5vdr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Beyond fuzzy sweaters and warmth, feeling cozy at home gets a boost with great child-centric books. </span> </figcaption></figure><p>I’m a children’s literature professor who specializes in the connections between young people’s rights and their reading materials. So as you can imagine, few things bring me greater joy in December than my university students describing how much they’ve learned about the potential of <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-choose-picture-books-that-will-empower-not-damage-a-child-82112">child-centered children’s literature to empower child readers</a>.</p>
<p>Few things, that is, except my own toddler proclaiming, “cooooooozy!” in the early dusk of a cold December afternoon, after we’ve finished a particularly satisfying book. Cozy is her highest literary praise. </p>
<p>Heading into the anticipation of more leisurely reading time over the holidays, I want more of that particular joy. I’m guessing you do, too.</p>
<h2>The right to ‘hygge’</h2>
<p>The thing is, many books that directly address children’s rights are decidedly not cozy. They expose or explore rights violations that range from finger wagging to horrifying. </p>
<p>But I don’t believe we leave behind a commitment to rights when we “indulge” in happy stories that imbue us with feelings of coziness. Indeed, they may be just as rights-supporting as their more sobering, politically charged counterparts.</p>
<p><a href="http://hyggehouse.com/hygge">“Hygge”</a> — the Danish concept of coziness — certainly isn’t a universal human right. But this special winter feeling of security, connection and comfort could be considered the highest expression of human rights — especially for children. </p>
<p>Beyond steaming cocoa, fuzzy sweaters and crackling fires, feeling cozy at home indicates a state of exceptional well-being that can only be achieved when children’s rights to <a href="https://www.unicef.org/crc/index_30177.html">protection, provision and participation</a> are being met.</p>
<p>Stories that create a feeling of “hygge” aren’t just perfect holiday reading; they may also provide inspiration — a vision of how life could or should be, for those whose rights aren’t currently being met. </p>
<p>Cozy stories are therefore perfect for both perfect and imperfect families alike, especially if your holidays bring more chaos than leisure. You can let the books create the calm.</p>
<p>Here are a few of my favourite wintery read-aloud stories for summoning “hygge” through the holidays.</p>
<h2>Picture books:</h2>
<h2><em><a href="http://firstsecondbooks.com/books/new-book-julias-house-for-lost-creatures/">Julia’s House for Lost Creatures</a></em></h2>
<p>Written and illustrated by Ben Hatke. (2014, First Second.)</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198203/original/file-20171207-11299-j08nkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198203/original/file-20171207-11299-j08nkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198203/original/file-20171207-11299-j08nkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198203/original/file-20171207-11299-j08nkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198203/original/file-20171207-11299-j08nkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198203/original/file-20171207-11299-j08nkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198203/original/file-20171207-11299-j08nkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>“Tea and toast!” crows my toddler when she picks up this whimsical book. Or when we return home after a blustery walk. Or when she feels generally in need of comfort. </p>
<p>Julia has become our touchstone for expressing domestic bliss, which can be truncated to the shorthand: “Tea and toast!” </p>
<p>Julia achieves this enviable state by filling her house with waifs and strays, then corralling their boisterous energy into creating a happy home where everybody contributes something valuable based on their skills and strengths. This book is satisfying on every level.</p>
<p><br></p>
<h2><em><a href="http://www.chroniclebooks.com/titles/sleep-tight-farm.html">Sleep Tight Farm: A Farm Prepares for Winter</a></em></h2>
<p>Written by Eugenie Doyle. Illustrated by Becca Stadtlander. (2016, Chronicle Books.)</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198204/original/file-20171207-11299-14574zc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198204/original/file-20171207-11299-14574zc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198204/original/file-20171207-11299-14574zc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198204/original/file-20171207-11299-14574zc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198204/original/file-20171207-11299-14574zc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=614&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198204/original/file-20171207-11299-14574zc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=614&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198204/original/file-20171207-11299-14574zc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=614&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>Find out what happens to bees, strawberries and chickens in the winter. This charming description of tucking in a small farm for its hibernation contains all the comfort of a bedtime book. After all, the family is putting the farm to bed! </p>
<p>The illustrations — right down to the end pages — heighten the coziness, which culminates in “clinking lights” and “down quilts of snow.” This story seems to tap into an ancient seasonal rhythm, which imbues it with the feeling that all’s right with the world.</p>
<p><br></p>
<h2>Early Chapter Book:</h2>
<h2><em><a href="https://us.macmillan.com/moominlandmidwinter/tovejansson/9780312625412/">Moominland Midwinter</a></em></h2>
<p>Written and illustrated by Tove Jansson. Translated by Thomas Warburton. (2010, Square Fish.)</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198205/original/file-20171207-11285-734leb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198205/original/file-20171207-11285-734leb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198205/original/file-20171207-11285-734leb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198205/original/file-20171207-11285-734leb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198205/original/file-20171207-11285-734leb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198205/original/file-20171207-11285-734leb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198205/original/file-20171207-11285-734leb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>A familiar classic, this early chapter book is a celebration of the adventures and introspection winter brings. It loses nothing upon reading. And re-reading. </p>
<p>This story provides the most impressive literary interpretation I’ve ever read of what one reviewer insightfully dubs “haunting quietness.” I still remember the varied epiphanies Jannson’s masterpiece brought about during my own childhood readings. </p>
<p>So walk along with Moomintroll as he explores life’s more existential questions in the moonlit snowy woods. Oh yes, and there’s also jam.</p>
<p><br></p>
<h2>Middle Grade Fiction:</h2>
<h2><em><a href="http://www.simonandschuster.ca/books/The-Wolf-Wilder/Katherine-Rundell/9781481419437">The Wolf Wilder</a></em></h2>
<p>Written by Katherine Rundell. (2016, Simon and Schuster.)</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198206/original/file-20171207-11282-jdzmrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198206/original/file-20171207-11282-jdzmrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198206/original/file-20171207-11282-jdzmrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198206/original/file-20171207-11282-jdzmrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198206/original/file-20171207-11282-jdzmrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1138&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198206/original/file-20171207-11282-jdzmrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1138&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198206/original/file-20171207-11282-jdzmrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1138&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>Whenever you feel like hanging out in the snowy Russian woods with a pack of wolves and a girl whose sass, smarts and spirit can hardly be contained in her wee frame, just pick up this rollicking old-fashioned adventure with a twist. </p>
<p>You may not feel particularly cozy while Feo is battling a nefarious branch of the Russian army in order to rescue her mother. </p>
<p>But her winter adventures with her wolves and newfound gang of plucky comrades culminate in a happy ending that’s as warming as steamed vanilla milk.</p>
<p><br><br></p>
<h2><em><a href="https://www.fantasticfiction.com/m/hilary-mckay/dolphin-luck.htm">Dolphin Luck</a></em></h2>
<p>Written by Hilary McKay. Illustrated by Bill Farnsworth. (1999, Margaret K. McElderry.)</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198208/original/file-20171207-11285-ltdfvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198208/original/file-20171207-11285-ltdfvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198208/original/file-20171207-11285-ltdfvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198208/original/file-20171207-11285-ltdfvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198208/original/file-20171207-11285-ltdfvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198208/original/file-20171207-11285-ltdfvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198208/original/file-20171207-11285-ltdfvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>The winter holidays don’t always bring bliss, not even during a rare snowfall on the Yorkshire coast. </p>
<p>For the Robinson children, Christmas won’t bring the sort of “something special” or “something nice” that they’re hoping for, so they are reduced to wishing for “some luck” instead. </p>
<p>Enter a railway journey gone awry, the search for a mysterious Viking sword, and resulting hilarious hijinks. </p>
<p>While things get worse before they get better, the ending is happy enough to melt even the Grinch’s heart.</p>
<p><br><br></p>
<h2><em><a href="https://penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/539263/bonaventure-adventures#9780143198505">The Bonaventure Adventures</a></em></h2>
<p>Written by Rachelle Delaney. (2017, Puffin Canada.)</p>
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<p>Hogwarts meets Cirque du Soleil. Join Seb Konstantinov as he journeys to Montréal to save his family’s circus by enrolling as a student at the Bonaventure Circus School. </p>
<p>Along the way discovers his own special powers, which he’s surprised to learn are strong enough to keep a big top up. Teamed up with his newfound buddies, his adventures become shenanigans before everything works out. </p>
<p>There’s never a dull moment, but there’s time enough to bask in the magic of ice sculptures, sledding and chocolat chaud. This is an updated old-fashioned adventure with all the charm of a classic old Montréal winter.
</p><p></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88361/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Superle does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Stories that create connection, comfort and security aren’t just perfect holiday reading. They also provide inspiration - a vision of how life should be.Michelle Superle, Assistant Professor, University of The Fraser ValleyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/693862016-12-21T10:34:19Z2016-12-21T10:34:19ZScandinavian winters of old were less hygge, more Nordic Noir<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148936/original/image-20161206-25753-j0nty2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> RPBaiao / Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>This winter <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-danish-concept-of-hygge-and-why-its-their-latest-successful-export-67268">hygge</a> has replaced Nordic Noir as the UK’s favourite Scandi-import. But the festive season in the Nordic world has not always granted an opportunity for cosy mindfulness. Medieval sources offer a decidedly more terrifying vision of Christmas, or <em>jól</em> (yule), its proximity to the winter solstice putting it at the heart of icy nightmares.</p>
<p>In the tenth century, King Hákon the Good (c. 920-961) ordered that the pre-Christian festival of yule should be observed at the same time Christians celebrated Christmas, Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241) tells us. The word <em>jól</em> was not replaced when it came to designate the Christian feast and related terms are still used in the modern Scandinavian languages. Both festivals involved drinking and feasting – but Old Norse texts also make a firm correlation between yuletide and the supernatural.</p>
<p>Understandably in such a northern climate, Norse mythology associated wintry weather with hostile forces. It was said that a mighty winter lasting three years would lead up to <em>ragnarök</em>, the apocalypse. The giants that constantly threaten the civilisation of the gods are associated with rime and frozen altitudes – one even has an icicle-beard that tinkles as he moves. It’s no surprise in <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/game-of-thrones-6730">Game of Thrones</a> that those living north of the <a href="http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Wall">Wall</a> are referred to as “wildlings” by the citizens of the Seven Kingdoms, or that the truly terrifying <a href="http://gameofthrones.wikia.com/wiki/White_Walkers">White Walkers</a> come from the “Lands of Always Winter” in the Far North.</p>
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<h2>Yuletide ghosts</h2>
<p>In <a href="https://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-the-icelandic-saga-63112">the Icelandic sagas</a>, hauntings are particularly rife at Christmas, with <em>draugar</em>, the corporeal ghosts of the deceased, returning to wreak havoc in their former households.</p>
<p>In the saga of Grettir Ásmundarson, for example, the fearsome shepherd Glámr engages in a mutually fatal Christmas Eve battle with an “evil creature” beleaguering the farm. But Glámr returns posthumously to damage property and terrorise the population by night. The hauntings lessen as the days grow longer, but next Christmas Eve the cycle begins again. In the third year, the pattern is broken by the eponymous hero Grettir, who – after an almighty tussle – is able to defeat the revenant by cutting off its head and placing it beside its buttocks (though not before being cursed so that Grettir is forever afraid of the dark).</p>
<p>And in The Saga of the People of Eyri (<em>Eyrbyggja saga</em>), a household is beset just before yule by a supernatural seal popping up through the fireplace – a far less welcome visitor than Santa coming down the chimney. Every attempt to club the seal only makes it rise further, until a boy whacks it with a sledgehammer “and the seal went down as if he were driving in a nail”. The ghostly return of six drowned men is at first celebrated, but the revenants outstay their welcome and are eventually dispatched through a combination of religious rites and legal proceedings.</p>
<p>In latitudes where midwinter offers at best four or five hours of daylight, it is natural that beliefs imbued with a fear of the dark should transpire. <a href="https://boydellandbrewer.com/seasons-in-the-literatures-of-the-medieval-north-hb.html">It has been suggested</a> that the association of revenants with winter may have been heightened because solidly frozen ground or heavy snowdrifts could hamper normal burial procedures, leading to a consequent fear that the dead could more easily rise.</p>
<h2>Freaky feasts</h2>
<p>Even kings can’t avoid their Christmas parties being ruined by supernatural happenings. In Snorri’s <em>Heimskringla</em>, his chronicle of the kings of Norway, all the food for King Hálfdan’s (c. 810-860) yule banquet is spirited away. King Harald Fine-Hair (c. 850-932), on the other hand, drinks a love-potion disguised as Christmas mead, driving him so mad with desire he neglects his kingly duties until the object of his new affections dies and is cremated.</p>
<p>Aristocratic Christmases are also documented by the <em>skalds</em>, medieval Scandinavia’s court poets. Here we find all the elements now associated with a merry Christmas – eating, drinking and gift-giving – but given a typically dark and martial twist. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149548/original/image-20161211-31396-10yzrc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149548/original/image-20161211-31396-10yzrc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149548/original/image-20161211-31396-10yzrc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149548/original/image-20161211-31396-10yzrc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149548/original/image-20161211-31396-10yzrc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149548/original/image-20161211-31396-10yzrc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149548/original/image-20161211-31396-10yzrc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Odin with his ravens Huginn and Muninn. From manuscript SÁM 66.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
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<p>When the poet Grani <a href="http://skaldic.abdn.ac.uk/db.php?id=2752&if=default&table=verses&val=edition">praises Harald Hardrada</a> (1015-1066) for “prepar[ing] a yule-feast for the retinue of Huginn”, the implications are darker than they seem: Huginn is one of Odin’s pet ravens – and a feast for carrion birds consists of dead bodies. Grani is in fact lauding Harald’s success in battle. For the <em>skalds</em>, Christmas was just another occasion to boast of their patron’s brutal brand of bravery.</p>
<p>The medieval period didn’t have a monopoly on creepy Christmases. Iceland’s <a href="https://www.academia.edu/2993258/Gr%C3%B8leks_and_Skeklers_Medieval_Disguise_Traditions_in_the_North_Atlantic">Grýla</a> may be a giantess known to Norse myth, but her tendency to devour naughty children at Christmastime – and her pet cat who gobbles up those without new clothes – are recorded hundreds of years later. Modern-day figures have become more good-natured, though: Grýla’s sons, known as the “Yule Lads”, are now more likely to be found distributing Christmas gifts than scaring the population into good behaviour. </p>
<p>“<a href="http://gameofthrones.wikia.com/wiki/Winter_is_Coming_(motto)">Winter is coming</a>” still resounds with menace in modern storytelling, but we can all sleep snug in our beds knowing we probably won’t have to contend with a supernatural seal while hanging the stockings this Christmas.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/69386/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hannah Burrows receives funding from the Arts and Humanties Research Council. </span></em></p>When it’s dark all the time you never know who might want to come to the Christmas party.Hannah Burrows, Lecturer in Scandinavian Studies, University of AberdeenLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/672682016-10-28T07:23:24Z2016-10-28T07:23:24ZThe Danish concept of ‘hygge’ – and why it’s their latest successful export<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/143463/original/image-20161027-11256-1m5leno.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Cosy Copenhagen.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-461750275/stock-photo-copenhagen-image-of-copenhagen-denmark-during-beautiful-sunset.html?src=C4qIoQlhL4-kSV6wuhOdGA-1-28">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you’re reading this in a comfortable chair, surrounded by tasteful soft furnishings and perhaps even a candle or two, that sense of cosiness you’re feeling might just be <em>hygge</em>. </p>
<p>The latest fashionable export from Denmark, following on from interior design and high quality television drama, <em>hygge</em> is the Scandinavian country’s latest gift to the world. </p>
<p>But this particular export is a concept. Roughly described as a feeling of cosy contentment, tips on how to achieve a sense of <em>hygge</em> fill lifestyle and fashion magazines. As is often the case with lifestyle concepts, an older cultural practice has been commodified. Real <em>hygge</em> can happen anywhere: in Denmark or somewhere else, alone or in company, indoors or outdoors, with or without candles, hand knitted socks and stylish furniture. </p>
<p>And after a turbulent, less than cosy year, it’s not hard to grasp why <em>hygge</em> has usurped mindfulness as the well-being trend of the moment. As one commentator has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/oct/18/hygge-a-soothing-balm-for-the-traumas-of-2016">observed</a>, <em>hygge</em> is “a soothing balm for the traumas of 2016”. </p>
<p><em>Hygge</em> is also hitting the lifestyle supplements at a time when the idea of Denmark as <a href="http://worldhappiness.report/ed/2016/">the world’s happiest nation</a> lingers in the collective imagination. <a href="http://www.visitdenmark.co.uk/en-gb/denmark/art/happiest-people-world">The Danish Tourist Board</a> has not been slow to leverage this reputation for the purposes of nation-branding, diagnosing Denmark’s chronic state of contentment as an effect of the welfare state, high levels of social trust, and of course <em>hygge</em> as a lifestyle. </p>
<p>This small northern European nation has emerged as a safe, familiar and yet aspirational kind of foreign; the kind of foreign that can capture our attention with a notionally untranslatable and distinctive looking word. A word that can easily be dressed up as a philosophy and a set of lifestyle choices complex enough to inspire <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_2_5?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=hygge&sprefix=hygge%2Caps%2C339">a dozen Christmas stocking-filler books</a> (and counting). </p>
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<span class="caption">Shiny hyggelige people.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-255854710/stock-photo-silhouettes-of-people-holding-the-flag-of-denmark.html?src=ojqhH_hsUwVXhs3bBrwOFg-1-92">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Splashing out on felt slippers, scented candles and gourmet beverages in a frenzy of consumerism can be rationalised as an investment in our emotional well-being. And while <em>hygge</em> is often defined in such gorgeously-designed books as enjoying the simple, homemade, hand crafted things in life, consumerism is integral to the contemporary use of the term in Denmark, too. Lifestyle supplements and manufacturers make liberal use of the term in their advertising, especially as the nights draw in at this time of year, and candles begin to appear on the doorsteps of Copenhagen shops and cafes.</p>
<p>It is as a noun that <em>hygge</em> has made its way into foreign lifestyle pages, but the Danes are just as likely to use the concept as an adjective or verb. The <a href="http://ordnet.dk/ddo/ordbog?entry_id=11022048&query=hygge">Danish dictionary</a> traces the verb form back to the Old Norse <em>hyggja</em> and Old English <em>hycgan</em>, whereas the modern meaning (to comfort or give joy) comes from Norwegian. But the word peppers contemporary Danish conversation in ways that are highly context-specific. Compound nouns can indicate seasonal variations with associated activities (<em>julehygge</em> at Christmas or <em>påskehygge</em> at Easter, for example). </p>
<p>The Danes’ trademark fine sense of irony can also easily re-purpose <em>hygge</em> as a euphemism for alcohol abuse or other forms of overindulgence. <em>Hyggelig(t)</em>, the adjective, can be used to mean “cosy” or “enjoyable”, but in some contexts is closer to the English “nice”, damning with faint praise. </p>
<p>The verb form, <em>at hygge sig</em>, is often used as a casual goodbye – <em>kan du hygge dig</em>: “have fun”, or “all the best”. <em>At hygge sig med</em> – to do <em>hygge</em> with someone – can simply mean to enjoy a fun or cosy experience together, but can also serve as a euphemism for more intimate activities.</p>
<h2>Hygge seems to be the hardest word</h2>
<p>That outlandish sequence of the letters y, g and e has spawned many an opening gambit to an article. In the introduction to his hilarious <em>The Little Book of Hygge</em>, Meik Wiking tests out “hooga”, “hhyooguh” and “heurgh” before reassuring the reader that the term can only be felt, not spelt. The otherwise <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/louisa-thomsen-brits/1079572/">beautifully designed cover </a>of Louisa Thomsen Brits’ book Hygge: The Danish Art of Living Well features a pronunciation guide (“hue-gah”) which, one Dane of my acquaintance remarked, is a much closer approximation of the sound made the morning after a night of too much <em>hygge</em> than it is the phonetic transcription (ˈhygə). </p>
<p>More egregious is the attempt by one <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-3767526/As-snug-hygge-Danish-art-embracing-life-enhancing-little-things.html">Daily Mail headline writer </a> to rhyme <em>hygge</em> with “snug”. Indeed, if there’s one thing guaranteed to thwart a trainee hyggethusiast’s evening of <em>hygge</em>, it’s a fruitless struggle to pronounce the word. In fact, the angst that strikes new learners when they discover just how tenuous is the relationship between written and spoken Danish can be characterised by adding a negative prefix to create the conceptual opposite of <em>hygge</em> – <em>uhygge</em> – a feeling of fright or unease.</p>
<p>Perhaps the tension between <em>hygge</em> and <em>uhygge</em> is at the heart of this latest craze. After all, fans of Danish television drama spent much of the last five years peering into the stylish Copenhagen apartments and cosy provincial homes featured in The Killing, Borgen and The Bridge. Based as it is on emotional as well as material comforts, <em>hygge</em> is a gift to the screenwriter and <a href="http://mecetes.co.uk/the-bridge-season-3-perspectives-from-the-uk/">set designer</a>.</p>
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<p>In fiction as in real life, then, <em>hygge</em> is the perfect foil for unspeakable crimes – and the perfect antidote to <em>uhyggelige</em> times.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/67268/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claire Thomson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We all deserve a bit of ‘hygge’ in our lives. Here’s what it’s all about.Claire Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Scandinavian Film, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.