Christmas 2017: 'Jolabokaflod', Tradition Of Reading And Why It's Important For Students

New Delhi:  Christmas, as time and again have been reiterated through movies, is all about traditions and every country where Christmas is celebrated with flare have their own traditions. One which shines bright among all others is from Iceland and this tradition can surely be adapted to benefit students and children in general all over the world. The tradition we are talking about is 'Jolabokaflod'. 'Jolabokaflod' is the Icelandic for 'The book flood of Christmas'. It refers to the fact that majority of new books are published during Christmas time in Iceland. 

In the 2-3 months leading to Christmas most new titles are published in Iceland, usually about 500-1000 books. 

The tradition started during World War II, when harsh restrictions on imports left the Icelandic people with few gift options during the Christmas time. The restrictions on imported paper were a lot more lenient, and so books became the obvious gift of choice. 

Before the Jolabokaflod, every Icelandic citizen gets a "Journal of Books". It is an annual catalog which shows up in the mailbox of every single Icelandic citizen and they can choose books from the catalog. 

This tradition could easily be adopted by parents in India and be used to encourage reading habits in young children. Apart from being an activity which improves knowledge, reading also has other benefits for young children and students. Some of the benefits are:

• Reading improves concentration
• Reading is a good exercise for brain
• Reduces stress
• Improves analytical thinking
• Improves vocabulary
• Helps with the writing skill

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