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Check your privilege, hygge culture

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Flickr Photo/Alex Holzknecht (CC BY 2.0)/https://flic.kr/p/8E7xgJ

Seattle was recently named the most "hygge" city in the United States. Hygge is a way of life that has been imported from Denmark. It essentially means coziness.

To combat the long, dark nights of winter, a hygge practice would include lighting your fireplace, filling a room with candles, reading cuddled up in a blanket, spending time with friends, drinking lots of wine and eating lots of cake.

As Meik Wiking from the Happiness Research Institute explains, hygge is being "consciously cozy," "the art of creating a nice atmosphere" and "indulgence."

So why shouldn't we celebrate being called the most hygge city in the United States? Crosscut's Knute Berger and Ijeoma Olou, editor at large for The Establishment, explain there is more behind the coziness and firewood.

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