Danish winters are cold and dark, with days that appear to be much shorter than we have in North America.  Sunrise is typically around 9 a.m. with sunset at 4 p.m. Even on our shortest day of the year, the Winter Solstice on December 21st, in Canada and the Northern United States, a typical sunrise starts at 7:30 and the day darkens by 4:30 ish. Which is why Hygge is comforting, and helps the Danes deal not only with the cold and darkness, but often the depression that people can suffer as a result.