November Notes on Tolkien

At the Called to Communion blog, in response to a brief but salient blog post from Fr, Dwight Longnecker, Andrew Preslar posts a three part series on the Catholicity of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Definitely worth a read.

Also, how cool is this? - (from the Wikipedia entry)

The Father Christmas Letters is a collection of letters written and illustrated by J.R.R. Tolkien between 1920 and 1942 for his children, from "Father Christmas". They tell of the adventures and misadventures of Father Christmas and his helpers, including the North Polar Bear and his two sidekick cubs, Paksu and Valkotukka.

The collection was published in one volume by Houghton Mifflin in 1976, and is available currently in a revised edition that includes more letters and illustrations. A great stocking stuffer for the Tolkien fan.

Comments

[Del]

We have the Father Christmas Letters.

A beautiful book, full of Tolkien's original art and humorous calligraphy.

these were written for his children, not for publication. They are a great insight into JRRT as a father.

[Lee]

I was gifted with it a couple of Christmases ago. It's a wonderful book.

[John Kasaian]

I've got a whole bunch of nieces and nephews to buy presents for this Christmas, This sounds like just the ticket!

[Michael]

My wife and I always read the Father Christmas letters around Christmas time. Some of them are laugh-out-loud funny, and highly recommended. The North Polar Bear's side-commentary on Father Christmas' letters is the best part.

[Darin]

This is great! I didn't know about this publication. I immediately went out and ordered it from Amazon.

In the spirit of Advent being a liturgical period of repentance, we decided to give up TV as a family for Advent (with the exception of our tradition of watching a Christmas movie as a family each Sunday night during Advent). As a replacement, I've started reading a novel to the kids. Right now we are reading the Door in the Wall, but I think I'll have to move on to the Father Christmas Letters after that.

Thanks for the great idea!!!

[The Two Towers MUD]

I've always been fond of the Father Christmas Letters. Another gem--"Roverandom", lesser-known but just as charming. Definitely worth taking a peek at to catch Tolkien in doting-father-mode.