""Jolabokaflod" is a Christmas Eve tradition in Iceland where friends and family get together to exchange books. For instance, in Iceland, Christmas Eve is all about exchanging books and spent reading in a cozy nook with some chocolate. How cozy and wonderful does that sound? Sounds like a perfect, cozy Christmas. Iceland has the most lovely Christmas Eve tradition. Christmas Day (Joladagur) consists of family parties, food, and more reading. Translating to "The Christmas Book Flood," Jolabokaflod is still a popular tradition in Iceland. Yes. A few years ago, we started celebrating Book Flood in our house on December 24. In addition to spending Christmas Eve tucked in with a good book, Icelanders will often enjoy hot chocolate or jolabland (a non-alcoholic holiday ale) with their page-turners. In addition to spending Christmas Eve tucked in with a good book, Icelanders will often enjoy hot chocolate or jolabland (a non-alcoholic holiday ale) with their page-turners. 2. In Iceland, Christmas Eve is the main day for holiday celebrations. As soon as I read about it I knew it was for us!! the idea is that christmas eve becomes a cosy time when everyone's reading the books they've been gifted around the fireplace, usually while drinking hot chocolate, mulled wine, or, if you want to. It's called Jolabokaflod, which basically means "Christmas book flood.". Credit: Adobe Stock - AlexMaster Christmas lights in Iceland glow beautifully in the winter . But apparently in Iceland, it's a national tradition to spend Christmas Eve eating and drinking chocolate and reading new books (!!!). After the Christmas Eve (Adfangadagskvold) festivities, Icelanders crawl into bed with a book and traditional hot chocolate to read. Translating roughly to "Christmas book flood" in English, jolabokaflodid refers to the Icelandic tradition of gifting books on Christmas Eve, then spending the evening reading, while sipping . Generally speaking, the shops will stay open in the morning, then everyone heads home to their families in the afternoon. According to tradition, dinner starts at 6:00 . I saw this the other day and am implementing it this year with hot chocolate. On Christmas Eve, everyone must receive at least one book to take to bed with some chocolates. 3. Her two latest books, The Little Book of the Icelanders at Christmas and The Little Book of Days in Iceland, are about Icelanders' enthusiasm for the Yuletide season, and Iceland's special seasonal events and holidays. Foreign imports were limited, but domestic paper was cheap. These books are then purchased as presents to be gifted on Christmas Eve. Friends and family then exchange books on Christmas Eve and spend the rest of the night reading and drinking hot chocolate or a non-alcoholic ale called "jolabland." This is a fitting tradition for a nation that publishes and reads more books than any other Nordic country. It is the tradition of giving books and chocolate on Christmas Eve. "Blind is a man without a book . Christmas Eve' ; an article from Iceland Writers Retreat, The Christmas Book Flood: A Beloved Icelandic Tradition' Focus: Reading Images: Tom Podmore and Nicholas J Leclercq on Unsplash READING #1 Read the article, 'Iceland's book and chocolate tradition is the perfect way to spend Christmas Eve' . And because, cozying up on Christmas Eve with a new book and some hot chocolate sounds perfect, my boyfriend (hereafter referred to as B) and I decided we'd adopt this tradition as well. Translating to "The Christmas Book Flood," Jolabokaflod is still a popular tradition in Iceland. Close 43.7k 1. People generally take their books to bed along with some chocolate. Generally speaking, the shops will stay open in the morning, then everyone heads home to their families in the afternoon. In Iceland, books are exchanged on Christmas Eve, and you spend the rest of the night reading. According to Rosie Goldsmith of the BBC, "The country has more writers,. This tradition is the reason for the word Jolabokaflod, or "Christmas Book Flood". The tradition is that everyone receives at least one book for Christmas. Christmas in the Library - you can see why getting and giving books is for us! Jólabókaflóðið: Books and chocolate on Christmas Eve Originating in Iceland, the Christmas Eve book and chocolate tradition is becoming a favourite thing to do the world over. 25th of December - Jóladagur - Christmas Day / Yule Day And we're talking real books here; the ones made from paper. The Icelandic tradition known as Jolabokaflod, which translates roughly to "Christmas book flood," calls for everyone to receive gifts of multiple books and boxes of chocolates. . The 10 books written by Alda Sigmundsdóttir lovingly capture varying elements of Icelandic culture and society - from contemporary issues to mythology and ancient beliefs. The main Christmas days in Iceland are the 23rd, 24th, 25th and 26th of December. Even grocery stores become major booksellers during the. Another key theme introduced at the dinner party is that of societal expectation. 9 things from different countries that are worth incorporating into your life: We live in a big world, with a myriad of cultures and habits we may find a little strange at first. The small Nordic island, with a population of only 329,000 people, is extraordinarily literary. Photo by Roman Gerasymenko Christmastime is just around the corner, which means that, soon, Icelandic publishing houses will be releasing hundreds of new titles onto the Icelandic book market, commencing a unique tradition known as the jólabókaflóð, or the Christmas Book Flood. The bulk of books sales for the year happens at this time. A few years back my family adopted a new tradition inspired by the Icelandic Jólabókaflóðið. So it's safe to say that the whole month of December is taken . September to November marks Icelandic publishers' biggest season, and many sell the majority of their yearly stock leading up to Christmas. Broadcasted over the radio, people sit down for a lovely holiday meal and listen to the Christmas Mass and choir over the radio. Then everyone reads together while eating chocolate and drinking hot cocoa." It all began in World War II. Christmas and New Year in Iceland is truly magical. Traditional Christmas meals include glazed Ham, turkey, beef, ptarmigan or lamb. Chocolate may be sitting by as well. Christmas Eve, December 24th, is called Aðfagadagur in Iceland. "People in Iceland will often exchange books on Christmas Eve, then spend the rest of the night reading them and eating chocolate. EXPERIENCE: 7 One-of-a-Kind Christmas Traditions from Around the World The country's book publishers have taken note on the holiday popularly in book sales. In Iceland, Christmas Eve is the traditional day to give gifts (my family does this too! I think it is lovely that after dinner and opening gifts on Christmas Eve, that Icelandic people cozy up with a book and some chocolate. People use this catalogue to order books to give to their friends and family on Christmas Eve, the main gift-giving day in Iceland. While this literary tradition—roughly translated as "Christmas book flood"—originated for a reason, my family adopted (and adapted) it for a different one: Will and I wanted to build in some purposeful quiet-at-home time amidst the dashing we did between various extended family . Christmas in Iceland lasts for 26 days, from the 11th of December until the 6th of January. In the months before Christmas, there are a lot of books published and sold in Iceland. In Iceland, books are exchanged on Christmas Eve, and you spend the rest of the night reading. 5-Minute Crafts. Sign me up! Christmas Eve in Iceland. On Christmas Eve, books are unwrapped and recipients love getting into their new stories right away, preferably with a good helping of chocolate nearby. Since then, books have been the most popular gift given during the holiday season. The word Jólabókaflóðið translates to book flood and refers to the annual release of new books occurring in the months leading up to Christmas. TIL of Jolabokaflod, a Christmas Eve tradition in Iceland where friends and family get together to exchange books and then they all read them together while eating chocolate and drinking cocoa. Icelanders open their new books on Christmas Eve and spend the evening reading with something to drink, often hot chocolate or jólaöl, a mix of two Icelandic sodas that's popular during the holidays. Unlike in most countries, Christmas in Iceland starts on December 24th at the stroke of 6 o'clock when the chimes of Hallgrimskirkja, the National Church, symbolize the beginning of Christmas. I love books! The Iceland Publishers Association mails a copy of the catalog to every home for free. They love to read and write. . It's a tradition that goes back to World War II. Heavenly. In 1944 the Icelandic book trade started sending a book catalogue to every household in November. In Iceland, people exchange books as Christmas Eve presents. 9 things from different countries that are worth incorporating into your life: We live in a big world, with a myriad of cultures and habits we may find a little strange at first. Celebrations officially start at 6 pm, a tradition leftover from pre-Christianity when a new day would officially begin at 6 pm, rather than midnight. hannahchasechase Hotel Lambafell View profile hannahchasechase Iceland has 13 Santa Clauses or Yule Lads. The annual Christmas tradition begins when Icelandic publishers send a list of every book that will be published that year to all households from the Iceland . I mean, I'm big into Judaism, but this is a kind of holiday I can definitely get behind. These books are then given as presents on Christmas Eve, and people spend the night sitting in bed and reading them. It certainly sounds like a perfect Christmas to all bookworms! However, it's believed that this tradition began in the 1930s with a book club called The Reykjavik Library Foundation.They wanted to encourage Icelanders to read more during their long dark winters, and so they established Jolabokaflod as an annual event where people could give and receive new books on Christmas Eve. In Iceland, books are exchanged as Christmas Eve presents, then you spend the rest of the night in bed reading them and eating chocolate. Note on Christmas opening hours: Icelanders celebrate Christmas on the eve of 24 December. Jólabókaflóð - The Christmas book flood, part 1. Welcome to Iceland—the 11th "Country of Christmas"! Christmas lights brighten the streets on the shortest days and the countless fireworks on New Year set fire to the night sky. After opening these goodies, recipients retreat to a cozy chair or bed with blankets and a hot beverage to spend the rest of the evening reading. The Christmas Eve book-giving tradition is the culmination of a months-long national literary celebration called jólabókaflóð or the "Christmas Book Flood." In September, the Iceland Publishers Association mails a book catalog called the Bókatíðindi to every home in Iceland (browse the Bókatíðindi 2018 ). A holiday for books and chocolate? In early December, we exchange shopping lists of books we think are good candidates for Christmas Eve reading. There they give books to each other on Christmas Eve and then spend the night reading, usually curled up under a cozy blanket while eating chocolate. cottage and country life, fine art, architecture, antiquarian books and prints, dogs, natural history and sporting items, gardening, photography, graphic design, humor . Jolabokaflod, which translates roughly to "Christmas book flood" in English, is the Icelandic tradition of giving and receiving books at Christmas. However the first of Advent might take place in late November, and people start opening their Christmas calendars on the 1st of December - and santa clauses start coming to town on the 11th of December. Iceland is a nation of book lovers. This tradition makes books the most popular Christmas gift of the country. I like hot chocolate, but I am sure tea would work just as well. Lat year I came across the tradition called Jolabokaflod, from Iceland. After all the gift unwrapping, Icelanders enjoy each others company, eat chocolate candy, play cards, read books and look through all their gifts. Throughout this bustling and much-anticipated yearly event, bookstores across Iceland Finally, they will then spend the evening reading one of the books that they will most likely have received. ICELAND CHRISTMAS EVE TRADITION Posted by Janet Rudolph at 9:03 AM. Iceland celebrates 13 days of Christmas instead of just the 12 you may be used to. "People in Iceland will often exchange books on Christmas Eve, then spend the rest of the night reading them and eating chocolate. In Iceland, books are exchanged as Christmas Eve presents, and then you spend the rest of the night reading in bed, and eating chocolate. In many households, Christmas truly begins at 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve and people go to church then return to their homes for a cozy time of reading, playing board games, and drinking hot chocolate . From Iceland — The Bookish Tradition Of Christmas Eve The Bookish Tradition Of Christmas Eve Published November 16, 2021 Words by John Pearson @johnpearson@grapevine.is Photo by Aaron Burden Tweet As yuletide approaches, the thoughts of Icelanders turn to books. . Vote. What do we learn about this tradition? Then in mid-December, we make a pilgrimage to a fancy chocolate shop to select truffles and filled chocolates in a shiny foil box. March 21, 2022. The tradition began during World War II . The Icelandic Jolabokaflod involves books, chocolate, and quality time — need we say more? Bring this tradition home with one of these Icelandic books: Icelandic Folk Legends: The Tales of Apparitions, Outlaws, and Things Unseen by Alda Sigmundsdottir - 15 Icelandic legends to teach you more about the Icelandic culture Iceland declared independence from Denmark in 1944, money was tight back to world War II these books then. 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