Letters From Father Christmas
Ratings43
Average rating4.3
Does what it says on the tin, I can't really get mad. But it's ...literally just letters.
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
What’s Letters from Father Christmas About?
From 1920-1943 JRR Tolkien wrote letters to his children from Father Christmas—generally multiple letters per year. These were (generally) not quick little notes, but were letters that could take multiple pages. Tolkien wrote these in an ornate penmanship where Father Christmas talks about their letters to him, and tells stories about life at the North Pole. Part of his stories—and a frequent contributor to these letters was Polar Bear (with his own penmanship, and idiosyncratic spelling), and Ilbereth the Elf joins later and his handwriting might as well be one of those fancy typefaces people use for overpriced wedding invitations.
In addition to well-wishes, responses to the letters received from the children, and assurances of gifts coming the letters contain updates on life at the North Pole. Sometimes these updates are comical (usually involving the accident-prone PB), sometimes they talk about battles with goblins, or troubles with shipping and tracking addresses. Invariably, there will also be some sort of illustration to accompany the story.
This edition contains full-color reproductions of the letters and drawings in addition to typed versions (in varying typefaces so you can identify who is writing the letter).
The Art
I’m so glad this edition has full-color reproductions of the illustrations—the letters, too, which almost count as art. On the whole, it’s very similar to Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien stylistically, which is is be expected. I bet his kids were thrilled to get this kind of thing from Father Christmas every year.
The Tolkien Estate’s website has several samples from this book to take a gander at. My favorites aren’t here, so, you’re going to have to track down copy yourself to see the best. But the samples are representative.
A Personal Observation
I was—and am—such a lazy and unimaginative father. Seriously—multiple letters, ornately illustrated, written in 1-3 distinctive handwriting, every year? I never came near that—not a bit. Never mind the content, full of imagination and whimsy—just the dedicated work that went into these letters.
Tolkien was something else…
So, what did I think about Letters from Father Christmas?
I loved this depiction of Santa—he’s more in the mold of the Kurt Russel/Dresden Files/Viking-ish Santa than the Clement Moore, Miracle on 34th Street, Rankin-Bass mold. Which fits with Tolkien’s interests, as I understand them. But in addition to being a Warrior Santa, he’s focused on his mission of spreading joy and presents—and is always expressing his affection for the children he’s writing to.
I enjoyed his stories about the battles and troubles he’d had that year. I wasn’t always into the Polar Bear mishaps, it seemed like picking on him to me. But I can see where kids would have fun with it.
One of the best parts for me was the way that Father Christmas talked to Priscilla about the difficulties in England in the 1940s—honestly (and age-appropriate) but filled with hope.
I can easily see this becoming a tradition to read with the Grandcritter and any siblings/cousins that might pop up. I also would enjoy revisiting this collection myself, I should add. I can also see better parents than me using this as inspiration for their own traditions.
If you haven’t tried this yet, I recommend it—for Tolkien fans or Santa/Father Christmas alike.
Originally posted at irresponsiblereader.com.
Not the kind of book I love but this was a wonderful idea by Tolkien it's quite charming imagining the faces of those kids when they received that letter.
This is so beautiful and sad at the end.
Tolkien writes to his 4 children over the years as Father Christmas... and as soon as they get older the kids stop writing to him.
The stories he writes and the love he shares it is really amazing. One of my favorites!
How have I never seen this?? This is such a cute book! I am definitely bringing a new tradition to Christmas with the grandbabies.
What a cute little collection of letters, the creativity from J.R.R. Tolkein is astounding!
Este Tolkien... Además de una imaginación fuera de lo normal tiene arte para dibujar!
Me ha sorprendido sobretodo que se puede ver con el paso de los años en las cartas el reflejo de la segunda guerra mundial y el impacto que esta tenía en la familia Tolkien y en el mundo en general.
También esa guerra se lleva Tolkien al mundo del Polo Norte, cuando en los últimos años de Cartas también Papá Noel y el Oso Polar se enfrentan a los trasgos.
I admire Tolkien's devotion to his children. He seemed like a loving father, and this book proves it. The letters were cute, funny and had some mystery in them.
Le lettere di Babbo Natale, in originale inglese “Letters from Father Christmas”, è una raccolta di lettere fittizie attribuite a Babbo Natale e scritte da J.R.R.Tolkien, pubblicate per la prima volta nel 1976 in lingua originale, e in Italia nel 1980..
Tolkien inizia a inviare ai propri figli (John, Michael, Christopher, Priscilla) queste lettere il 25 dicembre 1920, proseguendo nel gioco per oltre trent'anni: firmate Babbo Natale, infilate in buste bianche come la neve, affrancate con i francobolli delle Poste Polari, esse raccontano con humour e creatività le storie di Babbo Natale, ma anche del pasticcione Orso bianco e dell'Uomo della Luna, arricchendole di disegni e poesie.
“Miei cari ragazzi, quest'anno tremo più del solito. Colpa dell'Orso Bianco del Nord! E' stata la più grande esplosione del mondo e il fuoco d'artificio più incredibile che si sia mai visto. Il Polo Nord è diventato tutto nero!”... così incomincia una di queste lettere, che io ho inseguito per un bel po' di librerie sotto Natale quando ne ho scoperto l'esistenza; e io ancora rimango stupito, affascinato e meravigliosamente impressionato dalla genialità di quest'uomo che ha portato alla luce due dei libri che probabilmente mi sono più cari: “Lo Hobbit” e “Il Signore degli Anelli”.
Tolkien fa qualcosa di più per i suoi figli risponde alle loro letterine (fingendosi Babbo Natale) che tutti i bambini scrivono, dunque non solo una lista di regali da ricevere, ma un vero e proprio scambio epistolare, un appuntamento fisso che si verifica una volta l'anno. Lettere con francobolli, una calligrafia tremante per via degli anni suonati di San Nicola, Orso Polare che combina sempre tantissimi danni, gli elfi che fanno fuochi artificiali magnifici: tutto descritto e disegnato (e che disegni!).
Ma queste lettere ben presto diventano piccoli racconti, fiabe incantate di neve che descrivevano ai piccoli Tolkien la vita frenetica che a Natale e nei mesi immediatamente precedenti si svolge al Polo Nord, in questa specie di fiaba ad episodi emerge già tutta la sua fantasia e inventa un'universo di elfi rossi e verdi, gnomi rossi, goblin e animali parlanti: il personaggio di Orso Bianco del Nord, generoso e pasticcione, regala le pagine più divertenti e tenere, ma non mancano battaglie impegnative contro i cattivi che già hanno l'eco degli epici scontri degli scritti futuri.
Questo libro è meraviglioso, da leggere, leggere e ancora leggere o magari da prendere a spunto per i propri figli, per fargli vivere ogni Natale (e l'atteso dello stesso) con meraviglia e sorpresa infinita.
