Tolkien’s “Father Christmas Letters”

If you’ve read much of this blog, you know I’m infatuated with J.R.R. Tolkien. I’ve enjoyed multiple readings of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion, not to mention various short stories and essays. But this year I’m enjoying something brand new to me: Tolkien’s Letters from Father Christmas. 

It’s just what it sounds like: Tolkien wrote a series of letters to his children addressed from Father Christmas at the North Pole. The first letter was delivered in 1920 when his oldest boy was three years old, and the letters kept on coming for the next twenty years! And it wasn’t just a few slipshod letters here and there; it was an extensive correspondence, complete with drawings of the goings-on at the top of the globe. 

I’ve just finished the collection, and I’m absolutely smitten. If Tolkien seems inaccessible and heady to you, these letters may be just the cure. He is witty, goofy, and tons of fun as he, from the perspective of Father Christmas, writes about weather, presents, northern lights, and various characters that make up his day-to-day experiences. But the best part, in my opinion, is the character of the North Polar Bear. 

NPB, as he’s called, is always into some kind of mischief, usually ending in injury or disaster. In 1926, for example, the bear caused an uproar that upset even the cosmic balance!

“It was the biggest bang in the world,” bemoans Father Christmas, “and the most monstrous firework there ever has been. It turned the North Pole BLACK and shook all the stars out of place, broke the moon into four—and the Man in it fell into my back garden. He ate quite a lot of my Christmas chocolates before he said he felt better and climbed back to mend it and get the stars tidy.” Apparently what happened was that NPB found the tap to the “Rory Bory Aylis fireworks…and turned on all the Northern Lights for two years in one go.” 

Father Christmas is all in a kerfuffle about it, but the North Polar Bear thinks it was quite a hoot. NPB annotates the letter (as he often does) and adds, “You would have laughed too!…It was a lovely firework. The reindeer will run quick to England this year. They are still frightened!” (p 26-29)

The NPB also manages to break the actual North Pole (a big pole of ice) in half, catch whooping cough, shove the Man on the Moon under Father Christmas’s couch, get lost in goblin caves, and cause havoc in general. But my favorite debacle is as follows: 

“What do you think the poor dear old bear has been and done this time?” writes Father Christmas. “Only fell from top to bottom of the main stairs on Thursday!” (“Who’d left the soap on the stairs? Not me!” notes NPB.) “We were beginning to get the first lot of parcels down out of the storerooms into the hall. Polar Bear would insist on taking an enormous  pile on his head as well as lots in his arms. Bang Rumble Clatter Crash! Awful moanings and growlings. I ran out to the landing and saw he had fallen from to top bottom on to his nose leaving a trail of balls, bundles, parcels and things all the way down—and had fallen on top of some and smashed them. I hope you got none of these by accident?” (p 36-41)

Tolkien’s letters are such a thoughtful, memorable tradition that it makes me want to start doing it myself. But even if I don’t get around to writing my own, I will certainly read the Father Christmas Letters to my children as they grow. If you’re looking for a fun addition to your Advent, consider picking up a copy of the Letters and reading one or two a night. You’ll be glad you did. Until next time, may your Christmas be merry and bright!  

Tolkien, J.R.R. Letters from Father Christmas. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1999.