Father Christmas Letters: 1937

[Estelyn Telcontar]

This letter has a special relevance to 2012 - it was written in the year that The Hobbit was published, and we Tolkien fans are celebrating the book's 75th birthday this year! As a matter of fact, Father Christmas mentions that he had thought of sending the children the book(s), as there are "loads" of them being given for Christmas, but he thought they would already have enough of them. I wonder which book he is sending instead? He calls it "another Oxford Fairy Story".

One of the things that makes me smile when reading the letter is that Father Christmas sends greetings to the children's father!

As Father Christmas doesn't have much time, he gives the responsibility for drawing a picture to Ilbereth. The page is divided into 9 sections, almost cartoon-style, with various events and a brief comment underneath each.



This image shows only two of the drawings. The one most referred to in the letter is a picture of NPB decorating the Christmas tree, on which he ends up hanging and setting himself on fire. That gives JRRT an opportunity for a pun:

"You are not a decoration," said Father Christmas.
Anyway, I am alight," he [NPB] shouted.

Can anyone who has the book and can read Elvish translate the sentence written by Ilbereth at the end?