Birthday Presents from Tolkien
A note of thanks for Middle-earth
Hobbits give presents to other people on their own birthdays.
—J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Volume I: The Fellowship of the Ring
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892. On his 134th birthday today—as on every day—we have precious presents from Professor Tolkien: his voluminous written works, especially his enchanting tales of Middle-earth.
I have been enjoying these gifts as I celebrated the birthday of Christ (God’s greatest gift to us) this Christmas season. After sharing with my 13-year-old daughter Peter Jackson’s magnficent movie trilogy adapting The Lord of the Rings, I read aloud to her a chapter a day of The Hobbit until we finished it: my first full reading of the charming book since my own childhood. I had fun doing the voices and trying to make my reading dramatic for her. The day we reached “Riddles in the Dark,” the great Gollum chapter, happened to be her birthday, when we had a road trip for a day of fun. So in the car, we listened to Gollum himself—the inimitable Andy Serkis—read the chapter for the audiobook version. Having read The Hobbit together, my daughter and I now have a number of in-jokes between us based on aspects of the book we both found funny: especially the predilection of dwarvish beards for “wagging.”
Since then, I’ve been reading The Lord of the Rings on my own. I had tried many years ago, but didn’t get through the first volume; I wasn’t mature enough for it at that stage of my life. But now, I’m enjoying it immensely. As I read the prologue, I used AI to research unfamiliar terms and explore the rich lore of Middle-earth into which Tolkien poured so much labor and genius. This gave me an even greater appreciation of the films and made my subsequent reading of the first chapters of The Fellowship of the Ring all the more engrossing. It was a pleasure to spend a cross-country flight on New Year’s Day with my head and heart in Hobbiton, Buckland, and the House of Tom Bombadil. My own birthday is a week away, and it will be a gift to spend it both in California visiting family and in Middle-earth witnessing an epic saga unfold.
Thank you for these gifts, Professor Tolkien. Your Middle-earth books have been great escapes, brought me closer to my teenage daughter, and prompted in me many reflections on the human condition and on spiritual truths. Happy birthday in heaven, where I am sure you are enjoying the best birthday gift of all.