Words for the Holiday Season

Welp, we made it. It’s the end of December, and all that’s left to do is wrap up a few loose ends for the year, then settle into some quality time with friends and family. I have a lot to look forward to in the next 11 days I have off—family in town, my birthday, a first Christmas as married people (and maybe more importantly, a certain puppy’s first Christmas north of the border), sleeping in and movies and cooking and reading.

Here are a couple new words I learned today (after falling into a Wikipedia rabbit hole) that I want to keep in mind:

Hygge:

A Danish word (pronounced “hYOOguh“?) often translates to “cozy” — though it connotes much more. From what I gather, it means something like “fireplace warmth with candles and family and friends and food, tucked under blankets on a snowy day, cup-of- coffee conversation, scarf-snuggle, squiggly, warm baby love.” Or something like that.
Read more at this NPR article, here.

Gemütlichkeit

A German word meaning “a space or situation that is warm and cozy, that induces a cheerful mood and peace of mind, without a need to hurry or worry, and with a connotation of belonging and social acceptance”

Read more about both Hygge and Gemütlichkeit here.

Here’s a picture I took up at Timberline Lodge this past weekend. It’s such a cozy, warm place to curl up by a fire and have some hot cocoa. I’m also glad this family wasn’t creeped out by my snapping this picture.

I managed to sneak in a trip to Peacock Lane before the holidays! I loved the fact that there were TWO houses featuring Star Wars memorabilia.

This little cuddle puddle took place right after we took our holiday card photos. I love these two ridiculous creatures!

Osa rocks her Christmas sweater! I can’t wait to see how much she loves watching people tear into giftwrap!

This is the photo we used for our first ever Pratuch Family Christmas Card. I’m lucky to have these two, and especially lucky to have such a patient husband, willing to dress up in silly sweaters and pose with our silly dog.

Here’s wishing all of you a safe and happy Holiday!