Jolabokaflod is an Icelandic tradition involving giving books as Christmas gifts. If you always ask for books at gift-giving occasions, jolabokaflod might sound like a dream come true.
Jolabokaflod is an Icelandic word that literally translates to "Christmas book flood." That translation gives you the bare bones of what you need to know. It started just after WWII, when many common imports to Iceland were highly restricted, but paper goods weren't, making books a popular Christmas gift. This developed into a yearly cycle of buying books as Christmas gifts out of a catalogue released every year, opening the gifts on Christmas Eve, and reading long into the night.