Letters from Father Christmas | J.R.R. Tolkien
"We've quite a ton of crackers still,
to pull, and glasses still to fill!
Our love to you on this Noel -
and till the next one, fare you well!"
The Tolkien children had a special relationship with Father Christmas / Santa Clause because he actually answered their letters! This is a collections of those letters, written over the course of twenty-three years. Beginning with a letter to his eldest son John, in 1920, Tolkien continued to write to each following child, Christopher and Michael, ending with his daughter Priscilla in 1943, when she is 13 years old. Father Christmas writes of his adventures (and misadventures) on the North Pole with his companions. This is at first only the North Polar Bear - a helper that is more often than not involved in some sort of calamity that threatens to derail Nicholas' Christmas plans. Later on, the cast expands to include: Snow-men, Snow-elves, Goblins, Red Gnomes, Cave-bears and NPB's precocious nephews Paksu and Valkotukka.
Father Christmas writes in a shaky, spidery script - owing to his old age, of course. Illustrations are included in almost all the letters, detailing the events described and I adore how ornate the pages themselves are - the initial letter, the bright colors, the trailing vines. I was also absolutely entertained with NPB's interjections and notes on the letters, later joined by Ilbereth, Father Christmas' secretary. The illustrations are absolutely wonderful and some of the cards are so beautiful, I would have bought them gladly were they available for sale.
Tolkien created a whole world in these letters. FC moves house when HPB breaks the roof in his old one. Then there are the Goblin wars that occur a few times, each one threatening the existence of Christmas. There are caves where Cave-bears live and on the walls are drawings and writings that he illustrates. He sends an alphabet for the Arctic language. He explains how NPB let out Aurora Borealis (or Rory Bory Alys) and frightened the reindeer who then ran away...
Another thing that I noticed is how the times are reflected in these letters. When the Tolkiens moved, the children would be reassured that he is still coming, he'd been notified of the address change. Once he mentions that he'd thought to send them "Hobbits" but realized they already must have a lot of those laying around - the year was 1937 and "The Hobbit" had been published a few months earlier. During the Second World War the North Pole is doing well, but the stocks are low and so the children get what can be spared. He also mentions doing charity work and making toys for children who have lost their homes and families, who have nothing. He really was teaching his children to be humble, caring people.
I really enjoyed reading this. It showed Tolkien as a really devoted and caring father. His children must have had a magical childhood, growing up with his stories. It's so endearing to me that many of the things we see in his Middle-earth universe started here, with trying to amuse his children - the Elves, the Goblins in the letters. But also the other characters started as stories for his kids and grew into such a well-developed and beloved universe. I have to admit that I cried by the end. It hit me for some reason, the devotion for his family and how they fed his creativity. This little collection made me appreciate him and even The Lord of the Rings books even more and now I actually want to read more.
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