Christmas Eve With J.R.R. Tolkien

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It's Christmas Eve, and kids around the world are waiting for the magical moment when Father Christmas, Santa Claus himself, shows up and leaves presents underneath the tree. There's a joy in that anticipation that cannot be described.

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For British author J.R.R. Tolkien, professor and author, the magic of Christmas took form in the shape of illustrated stories and letters from Father Christmas, each complete with a North Pole stamp designed by Tolkien.

The first North Pole stamp cost "two kisses" and was given to Tolkien's three-year-old son, John.

The card inside featured a man in a red coat with the caption "Me" and the picture of a snow-covered, domed structure captioned "My House."

For the next two decades, Tolkien kept up this tradition. The letters contained stories of life at the North Pole with Father Christmas, his Polar Bear assistant, and many other characters.

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As Tate describes them, they weren't simply letters. "They were miniature works of art and storytelling.

The artwork wasn't just whimsical but chock-full of detail, which Tate describes as "extraordinary."

This writer was privileged enough to see some of the Tolkien archives housed at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The display contained meticulous handwritten notes, spreadsheets drawn from scratch long before Excel was a thing, and drawings of the characters, maps, and objects that would build the world of Middle-earth in 'The Lord of the Rings.'

Tolkien put that same effort into these annual Christmas letters.

What Tolkien knew about Christmas was the magic of the season — something he carried over into his other writing.

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And much like 'The Lord of the Rings,' Tolkien not only drew from well-known Christmas lore, but he also invented his own mythology for Christmas.

This included Snow Elves, Red Elves, and a goblin alphabet he created for his children to decipher.

The Christmas letters planted the seeds of what would become Middle-earth, with language similar to Elvish, and the Finnish influence behind his Quenya language.

As Tate says, the letters showed how Tolkien's mind worked and his creative storytelling process. It was a glimpse into the groundwork that would become 'The Lord of the Rings.'

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But because children grow up, and war was raging, Tolkien's last letter was sent to his youngest daughter, Priscilla, in 1943.

Tolkien died September 2, 1973, at the age of 81. All the letters were published posthumously in 'Letters from Father Christmas' in 1976.

The drawings show a mind that understood not only the magic of Christmas, but the magic of storytelling and world-building, and all the things fan love and cherish Tolkien for to this day.

"At its hart, this tradition wasn't about fantasy — it was about connection," Tate wrote.

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"Nearly a century later, the Father Christmas letters remain a lesser-known but absolutely delightful piece of Tolkien’s legacy," Tate wrote. "They are a celebration of creativity, family, and the enduring magic of Christmas: a gift from a father to his children, and to us all."

And tonight, as you go and celebrate Christmas with your friends and family, we hope you find the same sense of whimsy and magic that Tolkien created for his children, every Christmas, for more than 20 years.

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