Icelanders love to read books. Iceland publishes the most books per capita in the world, with five titles published per 1000 Icelanders. In 2009, the Reykjavik City Library’s book loans totaled to 1.2 million, but Reykjavik’s population is only 200,000. But the majority of books are sold during one particular time of the year—from late September to early November. This national tradition is called Jolabokaflod, or the "Christmas Book Flood." The books are gifted on the night of December 24th and people spend the night reading. The tradition started during World War II, when currency restrictions limited the amount of imported giftware in Iceland. But paper restrictions weren't that bad, so books became perfect Christmas presents.