Have you heard of 'Jolabokaflod'? This is an Icelandic tradition, roughly translating as 'Christmas Book Flood', and sounds heavenly to us!
During the Second World War Iceland didn't suffer rationing on paper, and this, together with Iceland's long literary history, meant that books became a particularly popular present at Christmas while other gifts were scarce.
Beginning in 1944 the Icelandic publishing trade issue a catalogue of newly published books which is distributed to all Icelandic households. This has come to signal the start of the festive season which culminates on Christmas Eve, the biggest gift-giving day of the year. Purchases are pored over, and books remain one of the most popular gifts at Christmas. The tradition extends to the evening of Christmas Eve, when the books are read late into the night, accompanied by a steaming mug of hot chocolate.
As lovers of both books and hot chocolate this is a custom that all of us at The Willoughby Book Club thoroughly endorse! It can be challenging to carve out time with a book on Christmas Eve, but we'll all be treating ourselves to a new book and a little bit of time and space to site, read and reflect on the year past.
Why not join us and make this gorgeous tradition part of your own festive celebrations?
We've been discussing what we've got planned for our cosy night in, so read on for some last-minute inspo!
Olivia
There's something about the cosy containment of Jolabokaflod (sorry for the horrible spelling, Icelanders!) that has inspired me to pick up my second book in the Moomins series. I was very generously gifted a beautiful hardback copy of Comet in Moominland by the legendary Tove Jansson by Marianne for our yearly Secret Santa and I can't wait to return to the magic and whimsy of her world. I'll be on a train for a large portion of Christmas eve, so there'll be a book in one hand and a mince pie in t'other. Lovely!
Alisha
My family has a yearly tradition of making sushi on Christmas eve and we love the ritual of it! Along with watching a ton of Christmas telly and diverting the cats away from the baubles, I plan on reading The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak. I haven't read any Shafak before and I just know that she will be a future favourite author of mine. Romance, magical realism, historical themes- these are all Alisha catnip and I can't wait to dive into the story.
Aishah
Any followers of our Willoughby newsletter and the What We've Been Reading section of our blog might know that I'm a sucker for a cosy fantasy. I love the escapism and feel-good vibes, the predictable happy ending and the warm familiarity of characters that you know will . For that reason, I plan on spending Jolabokaflod fully immersed in the first book in J. Penner's Adenashire series, A Fellowship of Bakers and Magic. It sounds perfect for anyone in the mood for anyone who has a sweet tooth for stories of friendships and romance.
Marianne
Jolobokaflod feels as though it was designed especially for me. What could be nicer than settling down with a brand new book, some great snacks and a hot chocolate? It is my dream night in.
I have put aside a copy of Rainforest by Michelle Paver as my Christmas read. There’s something about midwinter and the dark and dormant state of the world that leads me to reading dark and spooky stories, and no one is better at building dread than Michelle Paver.
