Post by Admin on Jan 7, 2021 3:56:46 GMT
Holidays are coming! With the festive atmosphere in the air, it is easy to imagine the same holiday spirit in Middle-earth. Let's celebrate our December topic!
No matter where you live and what you celebrate, holidays are mostly connected with the solar cycle and with anniversaries. The equinoxes and winter and summer solstice are particularly important dates, with the holidays of many nations and religions arranged around them. The new year is also celebrated by all cultures that count years.
You can expore the holidays of any culture of Middle-earth, as far as Aragorn or Legolas are present to them, or at least mentioned. Hobbits celebrated Yule and Lithe, corresponding with midwinter and midsummer. Dwarves celebrated Durin's Day, although it was a bit hard to predict it. The Numenoreans celebrated Three Prayers, religious holidays dedicated to Eru in spring, midsummer and autumn. In the Fourth age, there were holidays to commemorate the important events of the War of the Ring, and the anniversary of Sauron's defeath became the new year in Gondor. There are several holidays mentioned in Tolkien's books, but nothing prevents you from inventing your own.
But holiday not always meant happiness and celebration. There are at least two recorded events in the Silmarillion, where the Enemy used the celebrations of a holiday to attack unnoticed. Holidays can also turn bitter, when one has nobody to celebrate them with. It is up to you if your story or picture will be happy or sad, light or dark. Have fun creating it, and happy holidays!
No matter where you live and what you celebrate, holidays are mostly connected with the solar cycle and with anniversaries. The equinoxes and winter and summer solstice are particularly important dates, with the holidays of many nations and religions arranged around them. The new year is also celebrated by all cultures that count years.
You can expore the holidays of any culture of Middle-earth, as far as Aragorn or Legolas are present to them, or at least mentioned. Hobbits celebrated Yule and Lithe, corresponding with midwinter and midsummer. Dwarves celebrated Durin's Day, although it was a bit hard to predict it. The Numenoreans celebrated Three Prayers, religious holidays dedicated to Eru in spring, midsummer and autumn. In the Fourth age, there were holidays to commemorate the important events of the War of the Ring, and the anniversary of Sauron's defeath became the new year in Gondor. There are several holidays mentioned in Tolkien's books, but nothing prevents you from inventing your own.
But holiday not always meant happiness and celebration. There are at least two recorded events in the Silmarillion, where the Enemy used the celebrations of a holiday to attack unnoticed. Holidays can also turn bitter, when one has nobody to celebrate them with. It is up to you if your story or picture will be happy or sad, light or dark. Have fun creating it, and happy holidays!