Cozy Christmas – Celebrating Iceland’s Jolabokaflod

The idea of being cozy. It is the absolute definition of self care during cold winter nights.

I learned a good deal about coziness when I was living in Scandinavia. This normally included big fluffy blankets, no less than five candles burning, and maybe a gathering of non-twinkling twinkle lights haphazardly arranged somewhere in a far corner.

Coziness extended outside of our homes as well. I very much loved the fact that during cooler months, and even in the dead of winter, some cafes in Gothenburg still offered outdoor seating complete with candles and blankets for those taking their coffee outside. There was just something so very beautiful about that, especially if the snow was falling.

In Denmark, coziness is referred to as hygge and in Sweden we embraced what was called fredagsmys or “cozy Friday”. Coziness is celebrated often as a tradition in these countries, but when well-embraced it becomes a lifestyle.

I’ll write more about these Nordic traditions later but being that this is the holiday season, I want to tell you about Jólabókaflóð, a lovely Icelandic tradition reserved only for Christmas Eve.

Image this — no crazy hectic family gatherings, no angry political debates at the dinner table, your gifts have been bought well in advance. There is no stress here. Jólabókaflóð, or “the Christmas Book Flood,” is the giving and receiving of a special, most-wanted book and spending Christmas Eve quietly reading snuggled up in bed with a box of chocolates.

This, my friends, is my idea of holiday bliss. It’s not suppose to be a time of chaotic gift giving, breaking the bank, and working ourselves into a frenzy over last minute details and deadlines. And let me point out one very important thing about Jólabókaflóð. The book giving business is considered sacred so there are no ebooks included with this tradition.

“The culture of giving books as presents is very deeply rooted in how families perceive Christmas as a holiday,” says Kristjan B. Jonasson, president of the Iceland Publishers Association. “Normally, we give the presents on the night of the 24th and people spend the night reading. In many ways, it’s the backbone of the publishing sector here in Iceland,” (NPR, 2012)

The idea of Jólabókaflóð started after WWII when material items were hard to obtain in Iceland but paper was plentiful and inexpensive. Reading has always been held in high regard in Iceland. In fact, Iceland publishes more books per capita than any other country in the world. In 2011, Reykjavík was designated a UNESCO City of Literature, and among the general population, everyone dreams of writing their own novel … one in ten will have done so.

During the flood, books in Iceland are typically scheduled for publication in October or November in preparation for the Christmas holiday. This begins with Bókatíðindi (“book news”), a catalog of new publications which is distributed to every home in Iceland in the month of November. It is met with much enthusiasm as people scour the pages to find the perfect book for a loved one … and of course, to be able to drop some hints of their own.

For years my family exchanged books for Christmas but we never really integrated the cozy factor into it. Coziness, I believe, is essential for Jólabókaflóð. And so it was that last year we started this little tradition here in Boston — making book reading a Christmas Eve event complete with hot chocolate, warm woolen socks, a favorite pair of pj’s, and a much more relaxed happy holiday.

Really though, I don’t even need the holiday to do this. I could embrace this every night of week.

Wishing you and yours a magical holiday season filled with many most-wanted books.

Lisa Mikulski is a freelance writer based in Boston, MA. Available for print or online publications. Editorial, features, content development, and creative. She is presently working on her first memoir.