Have you heard of Jólabókaflóðið, the Icelandic tradition that translates roughly to “Christmas book flood”? A friend shared a post about the idea and I jumped at it. We’d recently moved across the country to Bainbridge Island, plus the kids were getting older, so a lot of our traditions needed reworking. This was something I knew they’d love.
From the official Jolabokaflod website:
“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 in 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.
“Every year since 1944, the Icelandic book trade has published a catalogue – called Bókatíðindi (‘Book Bulletin’, in English) – that is sent to every household in the country in mid-November during the Reykjavik Book Fair. People use the catalogue to order books to give friends and family for Christmas.
“During the festive season, gifts are opened on 24 December and, by tradition, everyone reads the books they have been given straight away, often while drinking hot chocolate or alcohol-free Christmas ale called jólabland.”
Every year I pick out books I think everyone will enjoy (including one for me!), buy warm socks, wrap everything up, and add a little chocolate. I think this tradition will live on for years to come.