Jolabokaflod, interesting tradition of gifting books during Christmas in Iceland
Jolabokaflod, (Jólabókaflóðið, Icelandic for “Yule book flood”) is a very interesting tradition for all the books lovers in Iceland celebrated during Christmas. Jolabokaflod roughly translates to “The Christmas book flood“.
This is the annual release of new books in Iceland occurring in the months before Christmas, a national publishing tradition for new titles. Newly published books are listed in a yearly compilation called bókatíðindi (“book news”) that is distributed to all households for free.[Source: Wiki]
This tradition began during World War II once Iceland had gained its independence from Denmark in 1944. Paper was one of the few commodities not rationed during the war, so Icelanders shared their love of books even more as other types of gifts were short supply. This increase in giving books as presents reinforced Iceland’s culture as a nation of bookaholics – a study conducted by Bifröst University in 2013 found that half the country’s population read at least eight books a year. [Source: Jolabokaflod.org]
