You made have heard of “hygge,” you probably haven’t heard of “mys.”

When considering cultural concepts that Americans want to import from Sweden, “fika” and “lagom” come up frequently. However, the concept of coziness in the Scandinavian context is often attributed to “hygge,” from Denmark. You probably haven’t heard of “mys.”

“Mys” is very similar to “hygge,” except there is a “mys” for every season. Once October rolls in, it is time for “höstmys,” or fall coziness. This may include a blanket, hot tea, or whatever makes the cold bearable.

On the Wednesday before my travel break week, we received an email from the DIS Administration with our newsletter for the week. In it was a blurb about höstmys. I thought it would be a good excuse to get my friends together for a night of coziness before our travel break week.

With the gang on board, I planned to make a simple Italian Beef Vegetable soup, some hot apple cider, and a chocolate cake. We rented Matilda, a movie I believe has “big fall energy,” and spent a few hours together on Thursday night before going our separate ways for travel.

As it begins to get colder and colder back home, I highly recommend setting aside a night to light some candles, make some hot apple cider, and spend time with your loved ones.

My hot apple cider recipe:

1. Fill a pot with apple cider or cloudy apple juice.
2. Mix in a generous amount of ground cinnamon or add a few cinnamon sticks.
3. Slice up one orange – float the slices in the pot and squeeze in excess juice from the ends.
4. Heat it up on medium high, then reduce to low to keep it warm for the remainder of your evening.
5. Enjoy throughout the night with a fall-themed movie and/or the good company of friends!