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Jólabókaflóð
The Christmas book flood or Yule book flood () is a term used in Iceland for the annual release of new books occurring in the months before Christmas. These books are then purchased as presents to be gifted on Christmas Eve. This tradition makes books the most popular Christmas gift in the country. The tradition extends into the night, when Icelanders will often read their new books and drink hot chocolate. Newly published books are listed in an annual catalogue called the ''Journal of Books'' () that is distributed to all households for free. The release of the Journal is the beginning of the book flood, signifying the start of the holiday season. The tradition comes from both Iceland's centuries-long literary history and the state of the economy during WWII, when strict currency restrictions limited the amount of imported giftware. Given that restrictions on imported paper were more lenient than on other products, books became and stayed the Christmas gift of choice. History I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the region's westernmost and most list of countries and dependencies by population density, sparsely populated country. Its Capital city, capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which is home to about 36% of the country's roughly 380,000 residents (excluding nearby towns/suburbs, which are separate municipalities). The official language of the country is Icelandic language, Icelandic. Iceland is on a rift between Plate tectonics, tectonic plates, and its geologic activity includes geysers and frequent Types of volcanic eruptions, volcanic eruptions. The interior consists of a volcanic plateau with sand and lava fields, mountains and glaciers, and many Glacial stream, glacial rivers flow to the sea through the Upland and lowland, lowlands. Iceland i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sagas Of Icelanders
The sagas of Icelanders (, ), also known as family sagas, are a subgenre, or text group, of Icelandic Saga, sagas. They are prose narratives primarily based on historical events that mostly took place in Iceland in the ninth, tenth, and early eleventh centuries, during the Saga Age. They were written in Old Icelandic, a western dialect of Old Norse, primarily on calfskin. They are the best-known specimens of Icelandic literature. They are focused on history, especially genealogical and family history. They reflect the struggle and conflict that arose within the societies of the early generations of Icelandic settlers. The Icelandic sagas are valuable and unique historical sources about medieval Scandinavian societies and kingdoms, in particular regarding pre-Christian religion and culture and the heroic age. Eventually, many of these Icelandic sagas were recorded, mostly in the 13th and 14th centuries. The 'authors', or rather recorders, of these sagas are largely unknown. O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Culture Of Iceland
The culture of Iceland is largely characterized by its literary heritage that began during the 12th century but also traditional arts such as weaving, silversmithing, and wood carving. The Reykjavík area hosts several professional theaters, art galleries, bookstores, cinemas and museums. There are four active folk dance ensembles in Iceland. Iceland's literacy rate is among the highest in the world. Arts Architecture Icelandic architecture draws from Scandinavia and traditionally was influenced by the lack of native trees on the island. As a result, grass and turf-covered houses were developed. The original grass houses constructed by the original settlers of Iceland were based on Viking longhouses. Literature Much of the history of Iceland has been recorded in the Icelandic sagas and Edda. The most famous of these include ''Njáls saga'', about an epic blood feud, and '' Grænlendinga saga'' and '' Eiríks saga'', describing the discovery and settlement of Greenland ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Book Day
World Book Day, also known as World Book and Copyright Day or International Day of the Book, is an annual event organized by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) to promote reading, publishing, and copyright. The first World Book Day was celebrated on 23 April in 1995, and continues to be recognized on that day. A related event in the United Kingdom and Ireland is observed in March. On the occasion of World Book and Copyright Day, UNESCO along with the advisory committee from the major sectors of the book industry, select the World Book Capital for one year. Each designated World Book Capital City carries out a program of activities to celebrate and promote books and reading. In 2024, Strasbourg was designated as the World Book Capital. Date selection The original idea was conceived in 1922 by Vicente Clavel, director of Cervantes publishing house in Barcelona, as a way to honour the author Miguel de Cervantes and boost the sales of books. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saint George's Day (Spain)
Saint George's Day (San Jorge in Spanish and Sant Jordi in Catalan) is celebrated annually on April 23. It is a significant day in several parts of Spain. The same date is also World Book Day, which was originally a Spain-only celebration (''Día del libro''). Andalusia Saint George's day is not celebrated in Andalusia. Aragón In 1978 Aragón officially declared April 23 as a celebration for San Jorge, the patron of Aragon, and titled it "Dia de Aragón". Day of Aragon commemorates the Battle of Alcoraz, when Huesca was conquered by the Aragonese army and where San Jorge allegedly appeared to the Christian forces at a critical moment in the battle. Cantabria The town Viérnoles in Cantabria celebrates several days of "Las Fiestas de San Jorge" at the end of April and or beginning of May. Extremadura Each year Extremadura celebrations focus on the Christian reconquest of the city of Cáceres. Festivities include the "burning of the dragon" and dramatizes re-enactm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Icelandic Christmas Folklore
Icelandic Christmas folklore depicts mountain-dwelling characters and monsters who come to town during Christmas. The stories are directed at children and are used to scare them into good behavior. The folklore includes mischievous pranksters who leave gifts at night and monsters who eat disobedient children. The figures are depicted as living together as a family in a cave and include: * Grýla, an ogress with an appetite for the flesh of mischievous children, whom she cooks in a large pot. Her husband, Leppalúði, is lazy and mostly stays at home in their cave. * The Yule Cat is a huge and vicious cat who lurks about the snowy countryside during Christmas time (Yule) and eats people who have not received any new clothes to wear before Christmas Eve. * The Yule Lads are the sons of Grýla and Leppalúði. They are a group of 13 mischievous pranksters who steal from or harass the population, and all have descriptive names that convey their favorite way of harassing. They come ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hangikjöt
Hangikjöt (; lit. "hung meat") is a traditional festive food in Iceland, served at Christmas. Etymology and history This Icelandic smoked lamb, mutton, or horse meat is usually boiled and served either hot or cold in slices, traditionally with potatoes in béchamel sauce and green peas, or in thin slices on bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ... such as '' flatkaka'' or '' rúgbrauð'' or '' laufabrauð''. It takes its name from the old tradition of smoking food in order to preserve it by hanging it from the rafters of a smoking shed. Sometimes, bits of string are present in the meat, having been tied around the meat to compress it and hold it together as it is being smoked; the strings are not eaten. There are several types of hangikjöt. The meat can co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas In Iceland
Christmas in Iceland (''Jól'') starts four weeks before proper Christmas, which begins on 24 December (''Aðfangadagur'') and ends thirteen days later on 6 January (''Þrettándinn'', coinciding with Epiphany). Traditionally, one candle is lit each Sunday, until four candles are lit on the 24th. At 6:00 p.m. church bells ring to start the Christmas celebration. The religiously observant and/or traditional Icelanders will attend mass at this time, while the secular Icelanders will begin their holiday meal immediately. After the meal is finished, they open gifts and spend the evening together. In Iceland people over the Yule holidays most often eat smoked lamb, ptarmigan, and turkey. Pork is also very popular. Thirteen days before 24 December, children will leave their shoes by a window so that the 13 Yule Lads ('' jólasveinarnir'') can leave small gifts in their shoes. The Yule Lads are the sons of two trolls, Grýla and Leppalúði, living in the Icelandic mountains. Each ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neutral Country
A neutral country is a sovereign state, state that is neutral towards belligerents in a specific war or holds itself as permanently neutral in all future conflicts (including avoiding entering into military alliances such as NATO, Collective Security Treaty Organization, CSTO or the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, SCO). As a type of non-combatant status, nationals of neutral countries enjoy protection under the law of war from belligerent actions to a greater extent than other non-combatants such as enemy civilians and Prisoner of war, prisoners of war. Different countries interpret their neutrality differently: some, such as Costa Rica have Demilitarization, demilitarized, while Switzerland holds to "armed neutrality", to deter aggression with a sizeable military, while barring itself from foreign deployment. Not all neutral countries avoid any foreign deployment or alliances, as Austria and Republic of Ireland, Ireland have active UN peacekeeping forces and a political allia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paper
Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is drained through a fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed on the surface, it can be pressed and dried. The papermaking process developed in east Asia, probably China, at least as early as 105 Common Era, CE, by the Han Dynasty, Han court eunuch Cai Lun, although the earliest archaeological fragments of paper derive from the 2nd century BCE in China. Although paper was originally made in single sheets by hand, today it is mass-produced on large machines—some making reels 10 metres wide, running at 2,000 metres per minute and up to 600,000 tonnes a year. It is a versatile material with many uses, including printing, painting, graphics, signage, design, packaging, decorating, writing, and Housekeeping, cleaning. It may also be used a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Post–World War II Economic Expansion
The post–World War II economic expansion, also known as the postwar economic boom or the Golden Age of Capitalism, was a broad period of worldwide economic expansion beginning with the aftermath of World War II and ending with the 1973–1975 recession. The United States, the Soviet Union, Australia and Western European and East Asian countries in particular experienced unusually high and sustained growth, together with full employment. Contrary to early predictions, this high growth also included many countries that had been devastated by the war, such as Japan (Japanese economic miracle), West Germany and Austria (Wirtschaftswunder), South Korea (Miracle on the Han River), Belgium (Belgian economic miracle), France (Trente Glorieuses), Italy (Italian economic miracle) and Kingdom of Greece, Greece (Greek economic miracle). Even countries that were relatively unaffected by the war such as Sweden (Record years) experienced considerable economic growth. The boom established the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Narrative
A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether non-fictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller (genre), thriller, novel, etc.). Narratives can be presented through a sequence of written or spoken words, through still or moving images, or through any combination of these. The word derives from the Latin verb ''narrare'' ("to tell"), which is derived from the adjective ''gnarus'' ("knowing or skilled"). Historically preceding the noun, the adjective "narrative" means "characterized by or relating to a story or storytelling". Narrative is expressed in all mediums of human creativity, art, and entertainment, including public speaking, speech, literature, theatre, dance, music and song, comics, journalism, animation, video (including film and television), video games, radio program, radio, game, structured and play (activity), unstructu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
