Pure joy and enjoyment for lovers of reading
This word, which could be translated as 'Christmas Flood of Books' , defines the season from November to December during which Icelanders start buying books, many of which They will be given away on December 24.
What comes next is pure joy and enjoyment: spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day reading quietly. Those in love with books, their new smell, their turning pages, turning corners and underlining passages have just found their place in the world.
Iceland is that country where the best gift you can give and receive is a book . Especially at Christmas. Iceland loves books and they are closely linked to families perceiving Christmas as a holiday, they explain on the NPR website.
The pleasure of dedicating yourself entirely to reading
The Jólabókaflód starts in November, when each house receives the Bókatídindi for free in its mailbox , a catalog summarizing new publications from the Icelandic Publishers Association.
The starting gun is given. From then on and throughout December, books are the star of many Christmas purchases. The role is still imposed , with a fairly moderate rise in ebooks.
Usually, gifts are delivered on December 24 and families spend the night and the next day reading.
This Flood of Books dates back to World War II, when strict capital restrictions reduced the number of gifts imported into Iceland. The limitations on imported paper were less severe, which led to books becoming the gift of Christmas. Since then, the Icelanders have maintained the tradition.