jolabokaflod

[yoh-luh-boh-kuh-flawd, joh-]

noun

1. an Icelandic tradition in which books are given as Christmas presents and opened on December 24, after which the evening is spent reading the books: from a practice begun in 1944, when paper goods were among the most available items in postwar Iceland.

Word History and Origins

Origin of jolabokaflod¹

First recorded in 2015–20; from Icelandic Jólabókaflóðið; literally, “(the) Christmas book flood,” a tradition in Iceland dating from 1944; from Jól “Christmas” + bók “book” + flóð “flood” + -ið, suffixed neuter article; Yule ( def. ), book ( def. ), flood ( def. )

Example Sentences

In Iceland, it is called the jolabokaflod, or the “Christmas book flood.”

Read more on New York Times

I've always been really taken by the Icelandic tradition of Jolabokaflod, or the "Christmas Book Flood."

Read more on Salon

"In December I organized a Jolabokaflod book exchange on Twitter," Cornett said.

Read more on Salon

So many books are released in the run-up to Christmas that they call it the Jolabokaflod, the Christmas Book Flood.

Read more on Washington Post

This time of year sees the "jolabokaflod", or Christmas Book Flood, when most books are published.

Read more on BBC