From hygee to hogmanay: how the world celebrates the festive season

January 18, 2017 | 16:09
(0) user say
A global research released by Diageo examines the shape of modern festive celebrations and shows the continuing importance of the centuries old tradition of making a toast at this time of the year.

From trying to work your way up in the workplace to hoping to get noticed by a romantic interest, the findings explore the reasons why people continue proposing toasts across the world.

The global study of almost 7,000 adults shows the Danish concept of hygee, which erupted in popularity over the last year, continues to grow in different guises around the world. Hygee, often translated as cosiness, means creating a warm atmosphere at home and enjoying the good things in life with good people.

Celebrating at home is more popular than going out for over half the participants (57 per cent per cent). In Denmark, the homeland of hygee, only 15 per cent per cent of people see it important to go out to celebrate, the lowest of any country, whereas the majority (85 per cent per cent) of Indians still consider being out somewhere special as key to any festive celebration.

From clinking glasses to toasting speeches, the research explores the cultural significance of celebration rituals.

Nearly half (47 per cent) agree that marking a moment through a specific act or phrase is a crucial part of their cultural heritage, while a superstitious fifth (20 per cent) do so in order to ward off bad luck in their romantic endeavours.

Men are more likely to use a toast to impress their loved ones, with two-fifths (43 per cent) seeing it as an opportunity to catch the eye of a romantic interest, compared to only a third (33 per cent) of women.

When it comes to making a good or bad impression, drinking to excess is the ultimate festive faux pas, with nearly two thirds (63 per cent) seeing this as a way to spoil celebrations.

According to Carolyn Panzer, Society director from Diageo, toasting as a way to mark the moment during a celebration is nothing new, but Diageo’s research shows just how far the tradition has come since its beginnings in the Neolithic period.

“Our research suggests two thirds of the world will be raising a toast of celebration this festive season and we know that where people celebrate—and who they do it with—is just as important as the drinks they choose to toast with. The global language of celebration is about people enjoying rituals and traditions that help mark the moment at this special time of the year,” Panzer said.

Data on online search hits also shows people are increasingly seeking out ways to make the perfect toast. In the last four years, searches for keywords like ‘cheers’ and ‘the perfect toast’ have increased by nearly two-thirds (60 per cent) across India, the Us, and the UK.

Search data also shows people are ever more international in their toasting, as searches for phrases like ‘cheers in [foreign language]’ have increased by 163 per cent, with the Italian “Saluti!” proving to be the most popular.

The consumer research was conducted by Kantar TNS UK on behalf of Diageo during November 17-23, 2016. The survey received answers from 6,758 drinking-age adults in Spain, the UK, the US, Australia, Denmark, Germany, and India. The research on search data was conducted by iProspect between 1-12 November, analysing Google AdWords data for India, the US, and the UK from October 2012 to September 2016.

By By Bich Ngoc

What the stars mean:

★ Poor ★ ★ Promising ★★★ Good ★★★★ Very good ★★★★★ Exceptional