Iceland is a country with a deep love for all things bookish. This island nation takes its reading and rambling seriously. With a national population of just over 300,000 people, there are more writers, more books published, and more books read per person than anywhere else on Earth. With this being said, it may not come as a surprise that in Iceland, they have a lovely Christmas tradition called Jolabokaflod. The word Jolabokaflod translates to "Christmas Book Flood," and it is celebrated on Christmas Eve. Friends and family hang out together on Christmas Eve and exchange books. Then, when all of the books have been given and received, they waste no time at all cracking one open as they all cuddle up and get cozy with hot beverages and sweet treats, and then they read all night long. The Jolabokaflod tradition started during World War II. 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.
I think that the Christmas Book Flood is such a beautiful tradition, and I can’t think of a better way to spend an evening than that – warm and peaceful, snuggled up by the fireplace with my kids and pets, eating chocolate and reading by the light of the Christmas tree until we just can’t keep our eyes open for another second. For readers, this scene sounds absolutely blissful because we readers love reading books, buying books, borrowing books, lending books, giving books, finding books, collecting books talking about books – heck, some of us even write about books. Books are life.
I am so grateful that I get to be Fallon’s book lady all year long and that The Fallon Post makes space for my rambling and reading with my Book Report every week. I love running into all of you in town, hearing what you thought of my last review, and chatting about your reading. Being greeted with, “I saw your article this week!” or “Alright, what are you reading now?” will never get old. I love the idea that, in some small way, I get to keep the Jolabokaflod flowing all year long. Merry Christmas, Fallon! This is the best little town, and I look forward to continuing all of our conversations about books and reading into the New Year, both here in The Post and on my Instagram @allison.the.reader – where I will be reading and rambling for as long as you will have me.
Allison Diegel is the Executive Chaos Coordinator at the Diegel Home for Wayward Girls and Their Many Pets here in her hometown of Fallon. She has been reading since before she could talk, and now she likes doing lots of both.
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