THE VISIBILITY AND COMPLEXITY OF INTANGIBLE CULTURAL PHENOMENA: THE CASE OF THE DANISH HYGGE CUSTOM

Abstract

Intangible cultural heritage is not just the cultural phenomena that are recognized by UNESCO. There are hundreds of cultural phenomena not on the UNESCO lists, for instance, cultural phenomena that are related to wellbeing: It seems that around the world, there are culture-specific intangible cultural wellbeing phenomena for which there is a word that is difficult to translate into English. One such word is the Danish word hygge, which is considered intangible cultural heritage in Denmark. Hygge is about informal relaxation that leads to a feeling of wellbeing. Hygge and similar culture-specific intangible cultural heritage around the world are of interests to tourists and are used in tourism branding. However, the intangibility of cultural phenomena can be a barrier for foreign tourists to experience them. With hygge as an example of ICH, this study examines the visibility and complexity of culture-specific intangible cultural heritage. This study applies a cultural framework to answer the research questions. Popular books about hygge are source material; the method is content analysis of document data. The study concludes that hygge is a complex cultural phenomenon that is visible to foreign tourists.