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A Very Tolkien Christmas

If you’ve seen any of the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings adaptations or any other film version, you know that Professor Tolkien was particularly interested in elves.

Did you know, however, that he wrote letters from Father Christmas to delight and entertain his children in the holiday season?

Noel

Myth and fairy-story must, as all art, reflect and contain in solution elements of moral and religious truth (or error), but not explicit, not in the known form of the primary ‘real’ world. ~J. R. R. Tolkien

In 2013, a pair of Tolkien scholars discovered a copy of J.R.R. Tolkien’s inspirational holiday poem in a Catholic magazine from 1936.

Tolkien’s personal faith is well-known and was beautifully woven into the epic tale of good vs evil that we know as The Lord of the Rings.

Even though he had been working on his elven languages and the fictional worldbuilding of Middle Earth as far back as his time in the trenches of World War I, Tolkien was also a prolific scholar and a thoughtful man of letters.

If you’ve never seen it or heard of it before, here is Tolkien’s poem:

Noel By J.R.R. Tolkien
Grim was the world and grey last night: The moon and stars were fled, The hall was dark without song or light, The fires were fallen dead. The wind in the trees was like to the sea, And over the mountains’ teeth It whistled bitter-cold and free, As a sword leapt from its sheath.
The lord of snows upreared his head; His mantle long and pale Upon the bitter blast was spread And hung o’er hill and dale. The world was blind, the boughs were bent, All ways and paths were wild: Then the veil of cloud apart was rent, And here was born a Child.
The ancient dome of heaven sheer Was pricked with distant light; A star came shining white and clear Alone above the night. In the dale of dark in that hour of birth One voice on a sudden sang: Then all the bells in Heaven and Earth Together at midnight rang.
Mary sang in this world below: They heard her song arise O’er mist and over mountain snow To the walls of Paradise, And the tongue of many bells was stirred in Heaven’s towers to ring When the voice of mortal maid was heard, That was mother of Heaven’s King.
Glad is the world and fair this night With stars about its head, And the hall is filled with laughter and light, And fires are burning red. The bells of Paradise now ring With bells of Christendom, And Gloria, Gloria we will sing That God on earth is come.

Noel – Tolkien’s Lost Christmas Poem

Letters From Father Christmas

Tolkien’s EPIC Letters from Father Christmas! | A Very Tolkien Christmas Special

As much as the good professor was an erudite scholar and author, he was a doting father of four children.

It seems that one of his sons had been asking extensively about Father Christmas. To address this onslaught of childhood curiosity, he penned an explanatory letter from Father Christmas himself.

For the next two decades, Tolkien treated his children to ever more elaborate and comical tales of the North Pole. From 1920 to 1943, this family tradition continued.

If you’re not a creative genius like our dear professor, you can have a copy of these charming stories to read to your children.

Elves & Goblins

Go not to the Elves for counsel, for they will say both no and yes. ~J. R. R. Tolkien

In pre-Tolkien fairy tales as much as in his own works, elves are mercurial beings.

The traditional versions of elves were typically flighty creatures who might help out with housework or shoemaking. They were tiny faerie folk who were as likely to hinder as to help. These elves are known more famously these days as Santa’s helpers.

Tolkien’s elves were tall, beautiful, wise and immortal beings. However, they had their own interests at heart. This could make them seem as mercurial as their fairy tale or North Pole counterparts.

Christmas Elves vs. Fantasy Elves