Greetings from the Shire on this happiest of Hobbit Days! Hobbit Day is the birthday of hobbits Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, two fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien’s popular set of books, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In the books, both Bilbo and Frodo were said to be born on September 22, but of different years. Bilbo was born in the year of 2890 and Frodo in the year of 2968 in the Third Age (1290 and 1368 respectively in Shire-Reckoning).
Hobbit Day was originally proclaimed by The American Tolkien Society in 1978. Many fans celebrate each year either by holding feasts in the hobbits’ honor, or simply by going barefoot.
If you do not much feel like cooking a feast and prefer to have your feet fully covered, here are a few geeky ideas from Wired.com to celebrate Hobbit Day in geek style:
- Cook some hobbity food. This is easy! Mushrooms, potatoes, anything delicious, really. Make it hearty and healthful. Visit your local farmer’s market, and find some traditional English recipes. Contrary to popular belief, much English food is absolutely marvelous. A real simple approach (that we tend to do every year) is a Ploughman’s Platter.
- Draw a map. One of Tolkien’s biggest draws continues to be the world that he created. Take some time with your geeklets and create your own map, pad and pencil style, or something fancier.
- Watch this.
- Take a hike in the woods and learn about the trees. Tolkien loved trees and marveled at their mystery, a theme very apparent in his works.
- Read some passages of The Hobbit aloud, or try some of Tolkien’s lesser-known poetry. Stoke up the fire, pour yourself some cider, and enjoy the company of your own family. That’s probably the most hobbity thing you can do!
