The Yule Book Flood

I’ve written before about the Christmas traditions that stretch back to the Norse festival of Jól (Yule) and the downright scary Christmas demons like Krampus who haunt the Alpine regions. Iceland’s traditions are no less weird and wonderful.

As readers will know, the main character of The Whale Road Chronicles, my series of historical novels set in the Viking age, is Einar Unnsson, an Icelander. Iceland has many Christmas– or Jól (Yule)- traditions. These range from the downright frightening, like the child-eating trolls Gryla and her lazy husband Leppaludi, or their monstrous Yule Cat (who makes an appearance in the Christmas Chronicles 2), to the irritating Yule Lads who come down from the mountains to deliver presents to good children while at the same time creating minor harassments like stealing milk, slamming doors or licking spoons. 

The Yule Cat in Christmas Chronicles 2

Perhaps Iceland’s greatest tradition however, is a relatively modern one, the Jólabókaflóð. 

This “Yule Book Flood” goes back to the Second World War. Iceland was already a nation of avid readers and strict currency restrictions during WW2 limited the amount of imported gifts available. One thing that was less restricted was imported paper. This led to books becoming an affordable and massively popular Christmas gift and an annual “flood of books” still arrives in December to this day.

In honour of this tradition, The Historical Writers Forum Facebook group are running a December Blog Hop. As part of that, I’ll be giving away a copy of Odin’s Game, the first in the series of Einar’s adventures that make up The Whale Road Chronicles.

For a chance to win, like and share the Whale Road Chronicles Facebook Page . 

For a chance to win another work of HF tomorrow, head on over to the next stop on the blog tour, at Selina Baker’s blog.

Here’s the Blurb:

Not everyone will survive, but who will conquer all in Odin's game?

AD 915.

In the Orkney Isles, a young woman flees her home to save the life of her unborn child. Eighteen years later, a witch foretells that evil from her past is reaching out again to threaten her son.

Outlawed from his home in Iceland, Einar Unnsson is thrown on the mercy of his Uncle, the infamous Jarl Thorfinn 'Skull Cleaver' of Orkney. He joins forces with a Norse-Irish princess and a company of wolfskin-clad warriors to become a player in a deadly game for control of the Irish sea, where warriors are the pawns of kings and Jarls and the powerful are themselves mere game pieces on the tafl board of the Gods.

Together they embark on a quest where Einar must fight unimaginable foes, forge new friendships, and discover what it truly means to be a warrior. As the clouds of war gather, betrayal follows betrayal and Einar realises the only person he can really trust is himself.