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Feel the Magic and Adventure with Tolkien Reading Day
By Shane Addinall Mar 24, 2021The 25th of March celebrates Tolkien Reading day when thousands of his fans come together to honour the man and his works. Learn more about J.R.R. Tolkien and his contribution to literature and celebrate this day of commemoration with GamblersPick.There have been and still are many great book authors, whose works receive a strong fan following. However, very few of them rise to cult status and receive the attention of special societies dedicated to keeping their memories alive once they pass on.
Only a few privileged writers have managed to accomplish this sort of feat. J.R.R. Tolkien is one such fine man. His fictional fantasy stories such as The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are some of the most iconic legends in the genre and have attracted diehard fans around the world.
Quick Fact: The Tolkien Society has over 1,000 officially registered members across more than 30 counties, globally.
In celebration of him and his work, The Tolkien Society observes four annual special events in his honour, the most exciting of which is Tolkien Reading Day.
What is Tolkien Reading Day?
On the 25th of March each year, the Tolkien Society encourages the fans of this ‘master writer’ to celebrate and promote the life and works of Tolkien. The society especially encourages schools, libraries, and other cultural centres to host special Tolkien Reading Day Events.
Did you know? Tolkien Reading Day is celebrated on the 25th of March each year because this date marks the victorious defeat and death of Sauron, from the Lord of the Rings.
This special day began in March 2003 and is about to celebrate its 18th anniversary. The notion of an honorary day began in January 2002 after a journalist from a local New York paper, Sean Kirst, asked the society whether they devoted any day to the informal readings of Tolkien’s work. This sparked the idea of a Tolkien Reading Day, which kicked-off the following year for the first time.
Who is J.R.R Tolkien?
John Ronald Reuel (J.R.R.) Tolkien has crept into the hearts of many through his fabulous books and the impressive feature films based on his works. Some of you may even have had the privilege to read The Hobbit as a set workbook at school. He is one of the most popular English writers and poets of the 20th century, having influenced the literary experience of millions of people since the release of his first book.
Mr Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, in the Orange Free State (South Africa) on the 3rd of January 1892 and lived for 81 years before he passed on the 2nd of September 1973. He was born to Arthur and Mabel Tolkien.
At three years old, Tolkien went with his mother to England for a lengthy vacation and his father was due to follow. His dad, however, passed away from rheumatic fever before he could join them. As such, Tolkien’s mom took him and his brother, Hilary, to live with her parents in Birmingham.
His mom set Tolkien up for success from an early age, teaching him to read and write by the age of four, which is an exemplary feat. When Tolkien was 12, his mother passed away from acute diabetes after which he and his brother received care from a close friend family friend, Father Francis Xavier Morgan.
After enlisting in the army, Tolkien married Edith Bratt on the 22nd of March 1916, with whom he later had four lovely children. Tolkien received a posting in France during the First World War as a lieutenant. He would go on to train as a specialist codebreaker in the Second World War, however, after his training did not have to serve, as his services were no longer required.
Mr Tolkien was a well-educated man. He studied at Exeter College, Oxford. Though he started his studies in classics, he changed course to study English language and literature, graduating with first-class honours.
After demobilising from the army, he worked at the Oxford English Dictionary, before taking a job as a reader in the English language at the University of Leeds, becoming the youngest professor there. Thus, started his beloved career as a University lecturer and professor in English, after which he worked at many prestigious educational facilities, including University College, Oxford, and Pembrooke College.
Did you know? Tolkien was good friends with first-class author C.S. Lewis, the creator of the famed Narnia Chronicles and other top Christian apologetic works. The two attended the same informal literary discussion group called ‘The Inklings’.
It was at Pembrooke that Tolkien wrote The Hobbit and the first two editions of the famed Lord of the Rings (LOTR) Trilogy in the 1930s. He finally concluded the final part of the LOTR epic in 1954.
Tolkien’s Famous Works
Between his family life and busy professorships, Tolkien managed to craft his fictional books that would go down in history as the popular pieces that defined the modern high fantasy genre.
Tolkien’s Middle Earth became a masterpiece. He took time to develop the special realm with unique languages (that he developed), several cultures, and civilizations, and a concise storyline that threads itself masterfully through several of his works, including:
- The Hobbit (Published in 1937).
- The Lord of the Rings (Published in 1954).
- The Simarillion (Published by his son in 1977 after his death).
- The Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle Earth (Published by his son in 1980 after his death).
- Beren and Luthia (Published in 2017 after his death).
Quick Fact: Tolkien is widely known as the ‘father of modern fantasy’ which is now more accurately known as high fantasy.
Scholars identify that there is a clear duality and parallelism in his work, where he often contrasts good and evil, death and morality, fate and free will, etc. Although Tolkien, himself, refutes that his works are allegories, there is a strong indication that his Christian values come to the fore in his writings of Middle Earth.
From Books to Movies
J.R.R. Tolkien’s works received a major boost in the 21st century when Peter Jackson turned both the Lord of the Rings (three-part movie) and The Hobbit into popular blockbuster feature films. This peaked the interests of those who may have never heard of Tolkien before and re-ignited a mass following of his books.
Did you know? Forbes ranked J.R.R. Tolkien as the 5th top-earning ‘’dead writer’’ in 2009. This follows a lifetime of millions of book sales and royalties relating to the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films.
The movies were each nearly three hours in length and remained wonderfully detailed and faithful to the books. The filmmakers spared no expense in re-introducing this fine fantasy back to the world, making The Lord of the Rings one of the most iconic fantasy films ever.
The Importance of Tolkien’s Work
As stated before, Tolkien re-ignited the fantasy drama and introduced the high-fantasy genre to the masses.
Quick Fact: The Times has ranked J.R.R. Tolkien as the 5th on the list of 50 Greatest British Authors since 1945.
Tolkien was not only an author but a masterful creator. The depth of his stories set a new trend in the writing world, providing a genre that has the ability to immerse you in a whole new world, providing the perfect form of escapism for avid readers.
Tolkien Reading Day Traditions
Tolkien Reading Day is just that – a day to read Tolkien’s works. Various clubs around the world get together to read special passages from his books in honour of the man who left his mark on literature.
Did you know? It took Tolkien 17 years in total to complete the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Even once it was published, he continued to make changes to the story.
When you closely look at some of his literature, you will find deep meaning in much of what the author writes. Many of these texts provide thought-provoking philosophies about life.
Some of his famous statements include:
- “Not all who wander are lost.”
- ‘’One Ring to rule them all, One ring to find them, One ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them.’’
- ‘’Faithless is he who says farewell when the road darkens.’’
- ‘’Little by little, one travels far.’’
- ‘’Courage is found in unlikely places.’’
For more wondrous verses and unique thoughts, we encourage you to get your hands on one of his novels and read it for yourself.
Celebrate Tolkien Reading Day with GamblersPick
At GamblersPick, we celebrate those we admire in the finest way possible. While there are no slots currently available to play relating to J.R.R. Tolkien’s works (The Lord of the Ring’s Slot is currently unavailable), the author had a big part to play in exploring the Old-English poem of Beowulf.
In fact, he rendered his own verse and a prose translation of it. Celebrate some Tolkien heritage by playing the Beowulf slot by Pragmatic Play!
This epic slot game supports the Germanic heroic legend theme, bringing the action to the screen via 5 reels and 40 paylines. Spin the reels and line up the warriors on the paylines to walk away with rewards of up to a generous 100,000 coins.
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Round-Up
Often countries and culture groups celebrate the silliest of things, however, this is yet another day of observance that gets our GamblersPick Seal of Approval.
J.R.R. Tolkien has made a massive contribution to the English language and to literature, keeping millions of people entertained with his life’s work.
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