4 Ways to Hygge Lent this Month

Make Lent More Lifestyle-Cozy

Do you celebrate Lent?

If so, you know we have several weeks left this month, before Easter. Many people who do celebrate Lent take something away from themselves during the Lenten season and get it back again on Easter.

I suggest using hygge to give yourself the gift of cozy as you navigate the loss of whatever it is you gave up. I didn't choose to give anything up this year, and haven't for many years, but I have been creating hygge moments this Lenten season and would love to share some ways that you can, too.

The practices that Lent promotes are those, in adapted form, that most people find benefit their physical and mental well-being most. Lent, being a time-limited period, is an ideal opportunity to press the reset button for yourself, mentally and physically, and to clear some of the spiritual clutter from your life.  - Jo Kneale, How to Hygge the British Way

[Hygge] encompasses a feeling of cozy contentment and well-being through enjoying the simple things in life. If you've ever enjoyed reading a book indoors on a rainy Sunday or a cup of hot cocoa
on a snow day, you've experienced hygge without even knowing it.
- What is Hygge? CountryLiving.com

4 Ways to Hygge Lent

If hygge helps us create coziness and contentment, how can you bring those feelings to your experience of Lent? Here are some ideas...

(1) Create a hygge space for your Lenten practices. If you’re reading a different devotional (like I am) or reading another book
about Lent, create a space for reading that draw you to it.

Choose your favorite chair or spot on the couch. Add fluffy pillows and wear your favorite socks.

Make your quiet times cozy – if you’re reading through the gospels during Lent, grab a cup of tea before you settle in to read. Choose a journal just for Lent and write down your thoughts about what each passage means for you, personalizing it, instead of just taking it in.

If this is a morning practice and mornings are chilly, at first, bring a cozy throw or have it there already.

(2) Make cozy food for your Friday night dinners. If you’re a family who goes meatless on Fridays during Lent, make those meals comfort food meals.

Make veggie burger spaghetti or pasta primavera or some other meal your family will love. Imagine the difference in how you’ll all feel about this Lent practice, in general, if everyone looks forward to Friday night’s meal each week.

Speaking of this idea, stay tuned, this month, for some suggestions for what you might make for your Friday night dinners.

(3) After dinner on Friday, have movie night and watch a family movie together. Mention that it’s a way to celebrate Lent and make Friday nights special. Make popcorn.

Another option would be to play board games after dinner.

(4) Have a family after-church quiet time. After you’re home and have eaten, gather in front of the fireplace (or a hurricane candle) and journal your thoughts about that day’s sermon.

Younger kids can draw whatever comes to mind about what they experienced in church that day. If your kids are older, you could have a conversation about it with them.

Which of these ideas appeals to you most? Is there one you might try?

For other hygge lifestyle articles, check out my free lifestyle library.

See you next time!

Love, Jeanine