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 )