One day I got a call just before Christmas.

My daughter's about eight.

She and her friend were busted at the local grocer who I knew.

He calls me and says, save his here.

She's stolen a popsicle.

This is Balder in Iceland.

I met Balder back in 2016,

when two days after Christmas, my wife and I took a trip there.

Because Christmas was just barely over, we got a small taste of Icelandic Christmas,

which is different from the American version in a handful of ways, including how Christmas

is officially rung in on Christmas Eve.

Everybody turns on their radio and waits for the radio to go silent for about 10 minutes.

Then at 6 o'clock, on the nose, the bells start ringing.

And then they sort of broadcast a service from a church, one of the many churches.

Everybody's all dressed up.

That's when everybody goes and kisses each other. You hug and kiss.

It's a largely cozy, homey affair where families gather and connect.

Christmas is a time to be home. Eat a lot. Get dressed up, but not go anywhere.

And adding to that cozy vibe is perhaps my second favorite Icelandic Christmas tradition.

All the authors here trying to get their books published before the, what we call the Christmas

flood. That's the flood of books. It's all about reading and giving books. And read your books

when dinner is over. I say it's my second favorite tradition because my favorite was something

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