One year in Denmark: There is no perfect happiness, only endless steps.

Helen Russell, a fashion magazine reporter living in London, is very busy, but not happy. She needs to consume a lot of coffee every day to maintain her energy. I used to go to the hospital three times a week to get pregnant, but the result was just in vain.

Life is sometimes like a bird without a goal. Even if you fly higher and farther, you are always confused and depressed.

Finally, the opportunity came. Helen's husband has the opportunity to work in Lego company in Denmark. After all, she is a reporter. After a survey in Denmark, Helen decided to marry her husband and supported her husband's suggestion: to live in Denmark for one year.

Thus, the year in Denmark began. From June+10, 65438 to February +2, 65438, Helen made readers feel the peculiar Danish customs, amazing Danish culture and a more three-dimensional Danish happiness through careful observation and experience.

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January: There is a happy Danish word called Hygge.

Winter in Denmark is very cold. From June 1 1 to February of the following year, Danes only enjoy hygge at home and rarely go out.

Different countries, this happiness looks similar. As Lin Yutang said: happiness, first, sleeping in your own bed. The second is to eat meals cooked by parents. The third is to listen to your lover's sweet words to you. The fourth is to play games with children.

Family will always be our happy harbor. Happiness in the family is also inseparable from a practical and comfortable aesthetic environment.

In Denmark, there is a master lighting designer named Paul. Almost 50% of Danish families have at least one lamp designed by Paul.

They support domestic production and pay more attention to the sense of design, technology and quality of products. This is also related to the exposure to high-quality architectural design at school since childhood.

Yes, imagine sleeping and resting in this design-oriented home environment. How can you not call him hygge?

February: The workplace in Denmark is very happy.

There is a "simplification rule" in the workplace in Denmark. To sum up: don't be too self-righteous and overestimate your irreplaceability in the company. You, really not that important.

In Denmark, 40% of the unemployed will find a job within three months and 25% will change jobs once a year.

Because there is no worries about job-hopping, you can get 80% to 90% of your original salary within two years after resigning (including voluntary resignation or being laid off). Even if you are laid off by the company, you will be well protected by the government. Before finding a job you like, the expenses will be borne by the finance.

Incredible, there is another kind of survival, called relying on the government. Such a country and such a workplace make people unhappy.

March: Pursuing personal hobbies and maintaining lifelong learning are conducive to improving the happiness index.

Danes are keen on various interest clubs, and many studies have shown that joining the club itself will make people feel happy. Moreover, rich spare-time activities also help to improve the quality of life and work efficiency, thus making the cause more successful.

Many retired people in Denmark will go to night school to learn foreign languages, just to order a glass of beer and look around for a holiday abroad.

Keeping lifelong learning, broadening your horizons and being happy will naturally follow. As Solon said in ancient Greece: It is never too old to learn.

April: Eating meat dishes is more conducive to improving happiness.

Children in Denmark like to watch animal dissection. For example: snakes, pigs ... these bloody scenes that make people think deeply and fear, for Danes, besides the bad smell, are more helpful for children to learn knowledge and more vivid and interesting than attending classes. They need to know the cruelty of nature and learn to face life and death.

I don't know if it's because they like to watch animal dissection since they were young. They treat animals as animals and like to eat meat dishes. Statistics show that vegetarians in Denmark only account for 3% to 5% of the total population.

Eating meat dishes is easy to make people feel happy, which has scientific basis. I feel the same way. What about you?

May: Patriotism can make people happy.

90% people in Denmark think their motherland is excellent; The Netherlands is 7%; In Sweden, it only accounts for 12%.

The People's Daily once wrote a sentence: "Patriotism is always the pillar of the existence of a nation and a country, and it is also the minimum standard of being a man."

The more patriotic we are, the stronger our country will be, and the stronger our country will be, the happier our life will be.

Joan: Danish women are happier than women in other countries.

The parental leave for newborn parents in Denmark is 52 weeks ... The parental leave for men is 2 weeks ... As long as there are children under the age of 18 at home, there will be government subsidies ... More than 78% of mothers will return to the workplace because the childcare government will subsidize 3/4 of the childcare expenses ... Danish men are more active in childcare life ... Ten thousand words are omitted here.

But even so, the patriarchal culture is deeply rooted in Denmark. Women who are married, have children or are pregnant will also be discriminated against by enterprises, despite the Equal Treatment Law.

July: Denmark, which has a high divorce rate, is the happiest country in the world. This is no joke.

Danes enjoy life very much. They usually go on holiday in July. It is estimated that holidays are generally long, and people will find that two people no longer love each other, or they will find new lovers after separation. So July is the month with the highest divorce rate.

Even if one day you are dissatisfied with the people next to you, or you like someone else, whether they are married or not, they will pursue boldly without hesitation. Nobody cares how many times you have been married, because most people are so free.

According to a data from Statistics Denmark, 42.7% of couples will end in divorce, and the divorce rate of immigrants is also on the rise.

Why is Denmark still the happiest country in the world with such a high divorce rate? The explanation given by a lawyer is: That's because we have equality and freedom.

Danish women can be as free and easy as men about divorce. Because a large number of women are active in the workplace, have a stable income, do not rely on their husbands, divorce procedures are easy, and they can also get 3/4 financial subsidies from the government to support their children. Economically, there is not much pressure.

In China, the national divorce rate has actually been rising since 2000. There is a set of data on the internet: in divorce cases, the proportion of women who divorce voluntarily accounts for 74%. Of course, this is also closely related to the independent personality and economic income of modern women in the family.

Just this month, our author Allen became pregnant. Tell the child's sex in advance, it's a boy.

August: Danish children (parents are laughing) are very happy.

In Denmark, no one steals children. The author calls it "trust within the system". Just this one, I wonder how many people in China are happy.

In the infancy of Danish children, the government bears 75% of the childcare expenses, as well as various concessions and exemptions. Like China, you started public school at the age of six. Even if you attend a private school, the government will bear two-thirds of the cost. /kloc-citizens over the age of 0/8 have scholarships during their studies, depending on their age and parents' income.

In 20 13, a documentary was released in Denmark, which allowed a group of China students to compete with Danish students. As a result, Danish children failed in school.

But Karen of Aarhus University said: "We will never be like China, but this is not a big problem ... but our young people are creative, which is our greatest advantage."

The future job market must be changing rapidly. Learning is important, but it is also very important to cultivate children's ability to accept future challenges.

September: Danish snacks make you happy.

In Denmark, if you want to be a baker, you need at least three years and seven months of training, so their cakes are world-class. Pizza and Danish hot dogs are also common foods on the streets of Denmark.

For Danes, freshness is the best. If it's carrots, they will advise you to eat them raw. This is the most convenient way to get the greatest pleasure. This is a bit like our Cantonese cuisine in China, which advocates the original flavor of ingredients.

October: Danes can drink a lot. They show super happiness because they are always drunk.

You can be serious or not. It's actually a joke. But Danes do drink a lot, and each person drinks an average of 1 1 to 12 liters of pure alcohol every year.

The extremes meet, and the Danes' pursuit of too much freedom is always unsatisfactory.

For example, Denmark is the European country with the highest incidence of sexually transmitted diseases caused by sexual openness; The proportion of women dying from lung cancer is the highest in the world; There is an open pharmacy ... so Danes are unhealthy and don't pay attention to health.

This is also closely related to the national free medical care. Anyway, no matter what happens, the government will take care of it and pay the bill.

1 1 month: lack of sunshine is easy to commit "winter mood disorder", and more sunshine is beneficial to happiness.

Puppies have seasonal mood disorders. This is due to the decrease of melatonin and serotonin levels. If there is a lack of sunshine, people are also prone to "winter mood disorder". In this month, the sunshine in Denmark is less than 1.5 hours a day. So sunbathing is very popular in Denmark, and Danish young people are also the most active users of sunbeds in the world.

When I was a child, I always saw a plump woman holding a candle: "Come on, baby …" Including many fairy tale illustrations, I always saw the shadow of the candle. Yes, Danes like candles, and their annual candle consumption ranks first in the world. Candles are more conducive to making the home environment more hygge.

1February: Trust and living in Denmark can bring you happiness.

February in 65438+ Denmark is the month of property appraisal, shutdown and tax payment. In Denmark, the comprehensive welfare system is also supported by high tax burden. It is taken from the people and used by the people. As a Danish, I also enjoy it. After all, reading, going to college and going to the hospital are almost free. ...

Christian, a happiness economist, said: All countries with a sound welfare system are highly trusted societies, although the high trust in Danish society is not necessarily caused by the welfare system. Of course, there are delicious food, free and willful culture and a high sense of security. ...

Merry Christmas, Helen's son was born. On the road of exploring Danish happiness, they also gained their own little happiness. So they made a decision: to live in Denmark for another year. ...

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Are you happy? How many points do you give yourself? In the book, Helen often asks people this question, and the answer of 100% is: 8 points, 9 points. What about you? Are you happy? How many points do you give yourself?

Very happy (feeling ecstatic): 10

Very happy (feeling relaxed and happy): 9 points

Happiness (feeling high and feeling good): 8 points.

Moderate happiness (feeling good and happy): 7 points.

A little happiness (a little happier than the average person): 6 points.

Even (not particularly happy or unhappy): 5 points.

A little unhappy (a little below average): 4 points.

Moderate unhappiness (depression): 3 points

Unhappy (in a bad mood, unable to get excited): 2 points.

Very unhappy (depressed and dull): 1.

Very unhappy (depressed, feeling at the bottom): 0.

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Different countries have created different cultures, and different cultures have also created different happiness that belongs to us. Even Denmark, the happiest country in the world, is not perfect. This is not a defect. This is true happiness, there is no perfection.

Qiao Jia said in the book Zai Qing: "A person's happiness often comes from self-identification and acceptance. The higher a person's self-identity and acceptance, the easier it is for him to be calm and satisfied with reality, and the easier it is to produce happiness. "

I'm impressed.

Happiness is a journey of self-growth, from self-identification, acceptance and love. If happiness is divided into national boundaries, one thing must be unified: happiness is in your own hands.

The road ahead is long. I hope you and I will finally reap full happiness, which belongs to each of us.