Jólabókaflóðið

Latah County Library District is celebrating The Christmas Book Flood again this year. Come grab a new book for you and everyone in your household to keep, starting Tuesday, December 19 at 10 a.m. in Moscow. This tradition originated in Iceland, with the local Icelandic name of Jólabókaflóðið, during World War II after Iceland gained its independence from Denmark. "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 short supply. This increase in giving books as presents reinforced Iceland’s culture as a nation of bookaholics — a study conducted by Bifröst University in 2013 found that half the country’s population read at least eight books a year." To learn more about this bookish tradition, check out the founding story at bit.ly/jolabokaflod-lcld.