Jolabokaflod

 Yes, I love my native United States.  But I sometimes wonder what kind of person I would have turned out to be if I had been born and raised somewhere else.

Like, perhaps, Iceland.

Who knows, but with all the times I dreamed of the midnight sun as a child, I may have had a previous life somewhere in the northlands.  

The 2017 Great American Eclipse, and its tie with sweet tea and Iceland.

There was last year's Postcard from Iceland, too.  

All I need to do to visit Iceland (now that COVID restrictions are a thing of the past, hopefully) is conquer my fear of flying (and spending too much money).

Of all the things that intrigue me about Iceland, about the most intriguing is the Jolabokaflod, the Christmas Book Flood.

I've known about the custom from various Facebook postings, but this blog post reminded me of it. 

Can I imagine a country where the holiday season begins with the arrival of the Bokatidindi (Book Bulletin), a catalog of every book published that year in the country?  Can a book lover like me even begin to imagine?  Maybe it's like the Sears catalogs of my youth but full of books instead of home goods and clothes?

This website discusses what happens next.  Basically, the custom is to have their main Christmas meal on Christmas Eve.  Along with the meal, they drink Malt og Appelsín (a soft drink that includes orangeade) and then it's time for gift giving.  Book gift giving, that is.  People give books to each other on Christmas Eve, and spend the evening (and maybe the rest of the year) reading their gifts.

I've read that 93% of the residents of Iceland read at least one book a year, and an Icelander averages 2.4 books a month.  I'm not sure what my count is, but I know several bloggers who read a lot more than I do.  Not only that, but I've read that one out of 10 Icelanders publish at least one book in their lifetimes.

Now, that's a country I can get into.

Can I imagine a Christmas Eve book exchange? 

Would you?

Postcard from Iceland

I got a wonderful Valentine's Day gift  in the mail last week- a postcard from "new friends in Iceland".

I don't have an official bucket list, but if I did, visiting Iceland would be on the list.  I have discovered, too, that my spouse and my adult son and even a good friend (my "guest photographer") would love to go one year, too.

It wouldn't have been easy for me prior to COVID-19.  I have had a fear of flying for many years and haven't been on an airplane in nearly 30 years.  But, that's the only way I can get to many places.  A travel agent, right before COVID-19, told me that more people than I might think take anti anxiety medication prior to flights, and that might be an option to consider.

In February, I read an online article in Forbes magazine written by Lois Alter Mark about a luxury hotel in Iceland that was offering to send postcards out to 700 people.  That was my Valentine's Day gift to myself.  My guest photographer also signed up.

Here's the site for the Hotel Rangá announcement. Their employees wanted to brighten the day of people all over the world.  They sure brightened mine.  (They did get requests for all the postcards, in case you were wondering.)

The front said "14 Feb 2021 With love, waiting for the day we can travel once again. (my name and a heart) Hope to see you soon with love from Iceland."  The stamp also was fascinating, with a "utan Evrópu" designation, meaning it was meant for postage outside Europe.  It got even more interesting when I read that Iceland stopped issuing stamps in October of last year.  It's a fascinating thing that should be of interest to anyone watching the woes of our post office system in the United States, but I digress.

The back of the postcard is a picture of the property during a visit of the Northern Lights. (And yes, I thanked them on their Facebook page.)

Before I get too excited, I have to realize that right now, Americans are banned from Iceland.  But there is always "one day".

I looked at their website and quickly realized this hotel is a bit outside my budget, (and their restaurant even more outside my budget) but you know what they say about dreams coming true? (Should I start buying lottery tickets now?) You do get a lot for your money, including access (during the dark part of the year) to an observatory, weather permitting, and a hot tub. 

I had such a good time exploring their website. It has a wealth (and I do mean a wealth) of information.

Here's a recipe for salmon, along with a dining playlist.

Lois Alter Mark, thank you for reopening this dream for me and inspiring me to learn about this country.  Just going through their website from my couch was a vacation.

To my postcard writer from Iceland, with love from the United States.

AM