The Higgs field originated as the universe cooled down…

““The Higgs field originated as the universe cooled down after the Big Bang-a bit like the crystallization of ice as water cools down. We have already argued that just as ice crystals form an ordered structure, so does the effect of the Higgs field-with the difference that this happens not in geometric space but in the abstract space of elementary particle properties. We know that water molecules drop down into the ordered structure of ice, releasing energy in the process. The most important difference between this notion and that of the ordering by means of the Higgs field seems to be this: The positive energy contribution associated with the field's very existence is more than canceled by the negative energy associated with the structure it causes to emerge. Consequently, a space pervaded by the Higgs field has a lower energy content than a space in its absence. This means that the Higgs field can spontaneously emerge from empty space, just as ice can spontaneously emerge from water if the temperature is low enough-that is, if the thermal motion that tends to oppose the ordering is weak enough. In the case of ice in water, the critical temperature is 0 degrees Celsius; for the Higgs field, it is 10^15 degrees. When the decreasing temperature cossed this critical mark some 10^-10 seconds after the Big Bang, the Higgs field emerged. It has pervaded the universe ever since, and all masses in the universe owe their existence to the ordering it has caused in the process of the cooling down of the universe.””

— Henning Genz