Today, September 22, is Bilbo and Frodo Baggins’ birthday! What are you doing to celebrate?
Hobbits celebrate birthdays by giving presents to other people. Sometimes the presents are just a mathom, some useless something that gets passed from person to person. But Bilbo set the model of generosity by giving lavish gifts, particularly to those poor enough to really need them.
What will you choose to give away to celebrate their birthday?
I’m still trying to decide. I’ll start by giving you this chance to win something on Bilbo’s birthday. And, I’ll nod to Tolkien’s many levels of attention to detail. Frodo waited to begin his journey to get the ring out of the Shire until their shared birthday, which often happens to be the first day of fall in the northern hemisphere. The fellowship left Rivendell on December 25, Christmas. The ring was destroyed on March 25, which in certain calendar years could be Easter. And, the final scouring of the Shire concluded in time for Midsummer’s Day celebrations. The full gamut of seasonal journey, and the church year to boot.
And if you haven’t read The Lord of the Rings yet…my gift to you is the advice to go read it.
And did you know that the Drowning of Westernesse happened on September 11th? Amazing isn’t it….
Only slightly related, but at my children’s preschool, the tradition is that for each child’s birthday, the birthday child brings a gift for each of his or her classmates, something small, like a piece of colored chalk or a decorative bandaid, or something else of significant value to three year olds, but not too onerous for parental pocketbooks. I wonder if this tradition predates the Lord of the Rings?