Holy Hygge - Creating a Place for People to Gather and The Gospel to Grow

by Jamie Erickson

I cautiously purchased this book. To be quite honest, anytime there is a new cultural buzzword, and Christians start using it within their circles, I feel cautious. I always wonder why we have to identify with a phrase the world has come up with rather than coming up with something original on our own. However, I digress.

This one actually caught my eye because the word “hygge” had already peaked my interest. The Oxford dictionary defines hygge as “a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being (regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture).” I don’t know about you, but I have worked hard to have a home that has a feeling of coziness. I want a home where everyone feels comfortable, where the atmosphere is friendly, and there is just the feeling of being safe and content. In my mind, that is what a Christian home should look like because of the person that dwells within those that live inside that home.

But, I also think that it is easy to get lazy in these areas. It’s easy to become lazy and try so hard with our own families and not reach out to a hurting world to offer them the comfort of our homes and allow them to feel the difference of a home that is grounded in God’s Word.

So, you see, it was actually the subtitle of this book that convinced me to purchase it - “creating a place for people to gather and the gospel to grow.”

I’m still reading through the book, but I can tell you it has challenged me but also inspired me in a way that has reenergized me within my home and within the ministry of hospitality to my own family and to those around me.

Here is the official Amazon description of the book.

“Women were made to give life—and they can do that right in their own homes. 

Hygge [HYOO-guh] has become a cultural buzzword. When many read about this Danish practice, their shoulders lift in excitement, then fall in exhale. In a culture of rush, hygge appeals to their desire for rest—for slow living, shared moments, and fostered friendships. Hygge has strong ties to beauty, contentment, and well-being. It’s warm and inviting. Hygge is the opposite of hustle. It eschews abundance. It savors. It takes things slow and envelopes you in sanctuary. Hygge is home. When you sit in a comfy chair by the fire, that’s hygge. When you arrange a fresh bouquet of wildflowers on a bedside table, that’s hygge too. Candles, soft furnishings, natural light, fresh-baked pastries, intimate gatherings with friends—these are what come to mind when you think of hygge. But hygge can be so much more. 

In Holy Hygge, author Jamie Erickson unites the popular Danish practice with the deep, theological truths of the gospel. She unpacks the seven tenets of hygge: hospitality, relationships, well-being, atmosphere, comfort, contentment, and rest. In addition, Erickson shows how the external veneer of a lifestyle can create a life-giving home only when placed under the hope of the gospel. Holy Hygge provides practical ideas for using hygge to gather people and introduce them to faith in Christ. Each chapter concludes with discussion questions, Scripture references, and a prayer.”