(WHTM) — Iceland is a nation of near-compulsive literacy.

The island’s population as of 2024 is 388,790, subject to change without notice. The literary rate is about 99 percent. In 2013, Iceland’s Bifröst University conducted a study of the population’s reading habits. They found that 93 percent read at least one book a year, and fifty percent read eight or more.

Not only do they read, they write. According to BBC Magazine, one in ten Icelanders will publish a book!

Get daily news, weather, breaking news and alerts straight to your inbox! Sign up for the abc27 newsletters here

And on Christmas Eve, Icelanders will gift each other with books, then sit together reading their new books late into the night while sipping hot chocolate.

Welcome to Jólabókaflóð, the Christmas (or Yule) Book Flood.

Iceland’s Northern Lights with abc27 Chief Meteorologist Eric Finkenbinder

The Icelandic literary tradition dates back to the writing of their famous Sagas in the 12th to 15th centuries. Jólabókaflóð, though, started during World War II. Many things were severely rationed during the war, with one important exception – paper. Given Icelanders’ love of reading, it’s not surprising books became extremely popular Christmas gifts.

Then in 1944 (the same year Iceland gained its independence from Denmark), the Iceland’s Publishers’ Association created the Bókatíðindi, or Book Bulletin. A catalog of new publications, the Bókatíðindi is sent to every household in the country in November. People order books from the catalog to give family and friends for Christmas.

So how exactly is Jólabókaflóð pronounced? It may seem a bit daunting at first glance — it’s a long name full of syllables, and what’s with all those little marks? The first thing to keep in mind is that many long words in Icelandic are made by stringing several shorter words together. (There are three words in Jólabókaflóð.) Second, the accent is always on the first syllable.

Iceland votes for a new parliament after political disagreements force an early election

The “j” in Icelandic is pronounced as “y.” This is true of most Germanic and Slavic languages. English is the oddball here – if you find a word in English in which “j” is pronounced “y”, it’s probably a loanword, which is a polite way of saying we stole it.

Most consonants in Icelandic are pronounced like in English. But they add accent marks over vowels which tell you their precise sound. Unlike in English, in Icelandic, you always know how to pronounce your vowels. So, let’s go through Jólabókaflóð letter by letter:

Watch: Lava spurts from Iceland volcano for second day as fissure spreads

J is like y in yes, ó is like oa in boat, l is like English l, a is like in car, b is like b in English, ó, k is like English k, a, f is like English f, l, ó, and finally ð. This is one of two Icelandic letters we don’t have in English. (We had them when we spoke Old English 1000+ years ago, but later dropped them. Our loss.) The other one is þ. Both letters are sounded as “th”. So what’s the difference? þ sounds like the soft th in “thin.” ð is like the hard th in “the” or “thunder.”)

Now, let’s sound it out in syllables:

Jó-la-bók-a-flóð

And there you have it: Jólabókaflóð. With a little practice, it’ll flow right off your tongue. And, knowing that in English this compound noun breaks down into three words, it almost translates itself for you:

Jóla-bóka-flóð
Yule-book-flood

From there, it’s easy to figure out that the first word in Bókatíðindi is “book.” The second part, tíðindi, translates as “news/bulletin” or “journal.” (í is pronounced like the ee in “seek”)

So on Christmas Eve, after you finish decorating the tree and setting out the presents for the next morning, why not do as the Icelanders do, and settle down with a cup of hot chocolate – and a nice new book?

For a simple primer on how to pronounce Icelandic, click here.

Want to see past and present issues of Bókatíðindi? Click here.

For the BBC Magazine article on Icelandic literacy, click here.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27.