Fun & Famous

SO NICE AND COZY

‘Oh guys, how cozy it is, right?’ That word, cozy, you use it often. Not normal. Actually for just about everything that tends to become fun or snug or whatever. Cozy is the guarantee for always good, but it also skirts around the bourgeois trivialities. I don't care at all, because I love cozy. So we're going to make it a cozy little thing, that's what a cold Sunday is for.

And with snow, the shivers and that kind of stuff, you immediately think of staying inside, lighting the candles or your fireplace (if you own something as wonderful as that). But why do we associate that with cozy? Well, fortunately, research is being done into these kinds of important facts. The Danes are hygge-ing it up, Renske told you all about it. And in our little Netherlands, we can do it too.

How come we all go for cheese fondue and grow hot chocolate bellies? With all that delicious stuff, we invoke the perfect state of feeling cozy. I join in, because I crawl under my cow blanket, light 50 candles (which is too much, by the end of the day my living room is an oxygen-free zone), snuggle up to my friend and spread toasties for life. It's really great that everyone takes a forest walk in harsh weather, but I just do better at this snug affair. By the way, it turns out to be completely logical (see, I'm not that crazy), because cold, harsh, and dark give you an unsafe feeling. And that is exactly the reason we curl up with all that warmth and light and especially STAY INSIDE.

Do you really enjoy glühwein when the wind is howling around your house at force five? That could be true. The warm contents of your glass or mug put you in a cozy state. And that's because your brain makes a connection between the heating set to 25-plus and the warmth you feel when you're together with friends. A warm hot chocolate at minus ten feels like an ultra-nice hug. And one more thing: it also depends on whether mom and dad used to light the candles on a freezing day. All learned behavior, that cozy group behavior of ours.

Well, I would say... Put on those slippers, light a scented candle, throw those chunks of chocolate into the warm milk and make it a cozy, warm, cuddly Sunday, kids. And if you want to stay inside? That's allowed and there's absolutely nothing weird about it. Hey, how cozy.

Source: Quest Psychology