These Should Be the Following Scandinavian Buzzwords
Once you have mastered hygge , the Danish concept of coziness, there are many other Nordic ideas you can explore . Swedish lagom can help you balance your life; Nixen is the Dutch relative of mindfulness. But these countries have ideas that are life-changing even more, and perhaps they should get their turn as American trends.
With Google Translate, I suggest the following:
- Sundhedsvæsnet , a Danish word for healthcare. Denmark has excellent healthcare, including a much lower infant mortality rate than the United States, and is available to all citizens. For this, of course, they pay taxes, but the cost per person is still half of what it is here . I’m not saying that we need to exactly copy the Danish healthcare system, but we could use sundhedsvæsnet to mean something like “better healthcare, and maybe everyone could have it.”
- Föräldraledighet is a Swedish word for parental leave. Couples get 16 months to split them between both partners . Paid. Countries with parental leave policies tend to have better child health outcomes . A 2011 study found that even the small parental leave we have in the US – 12 weeks of unpaid leave for those who can afford it – led to a small decrease in infant mortality .
- Gratis høyskole may seem like a bit of a trifle to Americans, but would you believe that in Norway, among other countries, college and university tuition is mostly free ? Crazy, I know, but remember that in the US we do the same with elementary school and see it as an affordable public investment in the future of our children. It is worth considering!
The beauty of taking the Scandinavian word as a concept is that we don’t have to accept, say, the exact Danish healthcare system, which has its pros and cons. We can use these words to refer to the ideas themselves that are worth importing. Just as hygge came to mean something like “hot tea and woolen blankets,” these words can also be used in everyday conversation. When you are at work and they call you that your child is not feeling well and you need to go home, say, “Wow, I really need a little föräldraledighet.”