Higgy? Hooga? Heugh? It doesn’t matter how you pronounce hygge, what’s important is that you feel it. Hygge is the Danish word used to describe the sensation of “cosy intimacy” you get when you are at home surrounded by your loved ones. Let me explain. Last Sunday, I was lying on the sofa while my wife practised her downward dog. A storm was raging outside, the scented candles were lit, a fire was blazing in the hearth and there was a plate of fresh pastries on the table.

“Could anything be more hygge?” I asked. “Yes,” my wife replied. “We could be watching some paedophile serial killer on the rampage in a Scandi noir box set.”

Research conducted by the Happiness Research Institute, of which I am the founder member, has concluded that the Danes are the happiest people in the world and that I am the happiest Dane. Every day, at least one person asks me to share the secret of my hygginess – and now that I’ve noticed several other publishers have brought out books about hygge, I have decided to share my secrets in the hope that the money I earn will make me even hyggier.

Instant hygge is possible. All you have to do is light a candle. Danes use twice as many candles as the rest of the world combined. So get a candle from a candle shop and light it. You may also want to switch on a lamp. Lamps can also make you feel hygge. Danes use twice as many lamps as the rest of the world combined. Make sure that if you do get a lamp, you don’t buy one from Ikea. Swedish lamps are a bit rubbish and won’t make you feel hygge.

Imagine a world where everyone leaves work at 5.30, goes straight home to light a candle, before eating a few cakes with some friends and going to bed at 9.45. That is what we do in Denmark. Every country may have their own ideas of what makes them hygge, but the concept is basically the same. Retreating to a space where you feel safe and not bothering about anyone you don’t know. A bit like what Brexit meant to many people.

There isn’t a great deal more to say about hygge but that’s not going to stop me saying it – because one of the best things about being hygge is that no one listens to a word anyone else is saying, so no one one knows when someone else is being boring. One essential component of hygge is eating. To be really hygge, you have to eat loads of cakes and chocolate. Here are some recipes for cakes and chocolates that you won’t get round to using.

Are you sitting comfortably? I thought not. That’s because you are wearing the wrong clothes and your house is poorly designed. To feel the true essence of hygginess, put on an old pair of trackie bottoms and a Sarah Lund sweater and throw some sticks on to the floor. That way you can feel the presence of the outside even when you are inside. You may also want to take some sticks with you when you leave your house to go into Copenhagen as not every street has a stick shop.

Have I mentioned that candles and cakes are very good for improving one’s hygge? It’s something I can’t stress too highly. Every month can be hygge month. In January, I like to sit indoors and watch TV. In February, I also like to sit indoors and watch TV. Ditto for March. By way of variety, in April I dress up in a flamenco costume and sit indoors and watch TV. In May, I go back to sitting indoors and watching TV. If it’s warm enough in June, I sometimes sit indoors watching TV with the window open. For the rest of the year I get ready for Christmas which is always the hyggiest time of year.

Hygge doesn’t have to be expensive. Cheap candles and cakes can be just as good as pricier ones. One of the reasons the Danes are so much happier than everyone else is because there is very little to do in Denmark, so we have got used to having low expectations. For us, a bike ride in the pouring rain with a candle on our heads or sitting on the beach in the pouring rain eating cakes can be pure hygginess.

Here are some ideas for how you can be hygge in Copenhagen:
1) Go for a walk with some sticks.
2) Buy a candle.
3) Have your throat ripped out by a copycat killer who has watched The Killing.
4) That’s about it.

Remember: candles and cakes are very important for hygge. Stay safe, stay hygge.

Digested read, digested: If you’re hygge and you know it, clap your hands.