Barrow-themed Christmas Greetings

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Though references to religious customs and holidays are quite rare and veiled in Tolkien’s works, we do find exact instructions for creating a decoration appropriate to this season:

“Seven stars and seven stones and one white tree.” (LotR 985)

The first necessary element is a tree of your choice, fir or other. Should it not already be white by nature, the necessary colour can be added by various means, all available in a store near you. Whether snow spray or a tube of opaque from your paintbox (the latter recommended only for very patient craftspersons) – the main objective is to get the tree white.

The proper style of decoration is rather sparse, according to Tolkien. Palantíri are rare nowadays – and quite expensive, even if you find an antique shop that carries them. (To say nothing of the risks and undesirable side effects they entail...) We therefore recommend the usual commercially available Christmas balls. Strict Tolkien fans choose the traditional clear glass baubles, hand-blown, though others who enjoy experimenting may opt for the coloured, mirrored, or painted variations that are available.

When you have distributed seven of these baubles, enough space remains for the seven stars required by the literary reference. Of course these are not meant to be real stars; we are working with “applicability”, not “allegory”, as every attentive reader knows. Since we have no further clues as to the possible forms and materials of the stars, much artistic freedom is left up to the sub-creator. Whether they are made of straw, wood, or metal; whether five- six- or eight-pointed ; whether gold- or silver-coloured; whether including a light or not – true Tolkienists compete for the most inventive interpretation.

Then, when the tree shines in all its splendour, a king can be crowned or a wedding celebrated. Should neither of these events be imminent, an appropriate traditional song can be sung instead. Here are the words to the best known:

Oh Gondor tree, oh Gondor tree,
How withered are thy branches.
Thy boughs bloom only for the king,
“Where is Isildur’s heir?” we sing.
Oh Gondor tree, oh Gondor tree,
How withered are thy branches.

Oh Gondor tree, oh Gondor tree,
When wilt thou yet delight us?
A steward did the city rule,
The palantír made him a fool,
Oh Gondor tree, oh Gondor tree,
When wilt thou yet delight us?

Oh Gondor tree, oh Gondor tree,
Teach me to hope for Strider.
Elendil comes: though yet we wait,
Estel Telcontar is not late.
Oh Gondor tree, oh Gondor tree,
Teach me to hope for Strider.



(This article was originally written in German and appeared in the German Tolkien Society's journal "Der Flammifer von Westernis", Nr. 38, 3/2009. The rights for both original and translation are my own - Middle-earth references are borrowed from Tolkien.)

[Lindale]

Aww, milady Esty, you should have posted it earlier, that I might have applied the seven-stones and -stars to my own little Christmas tree.

[Bêthberry]

What better to suit a Tolkien-themed Christmas greeting than to remember where it all started: with an Old English poem about Advent. Here are the relevant lines with a modern translation taken from the wikipedia entry on earendel.

Originally Posted by Crist, ll. 104-108

éala éarendel engla beorhtast
ofer middangeard monnum sended
and sodfasta sunnan leoma,
tohrt ofer tunglas þu tida gehvane
of sylfum þe symle inlihtes.

Hail Earendel, brightest of angels,
over middle-yard to men sent,
and true radiance of the Sun
bright above the stars, every season
thou of thyself ever illuminest.

Merry Christmas, Downers.

[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

As a composer, this is the best Yuletide greeting I can come up with. It's from the second of my suites inspired by the works of Tolkien, Travels of the Grey Pilgrim, and this movement is entitled "The Shire at Yule." It's not the best of recordings or performances, since it was done entirely on my home computer using sampled instruments (and was done before I had a better "orchestra" available to me), but it's not too bad. Though it may sound a mite tinny on laptop speakers (they really don't have much in the way of decent bass, do they? ). It can be heard here.

Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, a Good Yule to all.

[Hookbill the Goomba]

Something my brother just drew for you all...

[Pitchwife]

Ibrin, this is really beautiful music! You have a gift of inventing melodies that sound archetypically familiar, always seeming to remind me of something I can't quite lay my finger on, without ever being in any way derivative - like memories from a dream, if that makes sense. Thanks for sharing this!

And Hookbill, give my compliments to your brother. Alien is especially cute on this one.

[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

Originally Posted by Pitchwife

Ibrin, this is really beautiful music! You have a gift of inventing melodies that sound archetypically familiar, always seeming to remind me of something I can't quite lay my finger on, without ever being in any way derivative - like memories from a dream, if that makes sense. Thanks for sharing this!

Thank you very much *blush*. I know that like any musician, I've had strong influences (probably the strongest being Vaughn Willams, Debussy, and Hovhaness, not to mention folk music and Gregorian chant), but I have tried to find my own voice and not be a mere echo of someone else's. Saying it's "like memories from a dream" is perhaps very accurate. All my life, I've had a sort of "soundtrack" running through my head, tunes that my brain came up with on its own, but that I was only occasionally able to get out for others to hear (usually when I could write lyrics and make a song of it). I was tough even when I studied composition in college, because by that time, I was oriented more toward voice than orchestra. Having a computer program that gave me an orchestra at my fingertips was a godsend, and I'm happy that I've been able to share it with others.

I hope everyone's Christmas was merry, and that the coming New Year will be blessed for all.