Tolkien Reading Day and Ireland Photos! 1/8

uess what!

Tolkien Reading Day is coming up!

"Tolkien Reading Day is held on the 25th of March each year.

It has been organised by the Tolkien Society since 2003 to encourage fans to celebrate and promote the life and works of J.R.R. Tolkien by reading favourite passages. We particularly encourage schools, museums and libraries to host their own Tolkien Reading Day events.

Why 25 March?

The 25th of March is the date of the downfall of the Lord of the Rings (Sauron) and the fall of Barad-dûr. It’s as simple as that!

As the 25th is obviously a fixed date, we suggest that local events could be held on the weekend prior or after to then if that’s more convenient.

Tolkien Reading Day began following an enquiry from Sean Kirst, a columnist of the The Post-Standard (a paper local to Syracuse, New York), in January 2002:

My grandparents were fishing folk from Buckie in the north of Scotland, carriers of the old stories and legends, and the trilogy has filled a certain hole in my life. I have many friends here in New York who were equally moved by the book, reignited by the film, and we all wondered: is there any day devoted informally to readings from the trilogy, in the way that “Bloomsday” is devoted to Joyce?

The committee liked the idea so much that they choose 25 March 2003 to be the first “Tolkien Reading Day”, and the rest, as they say, is history!"

This year's theme is fellowship and community. I'm right in the middle of my annual reread of The Lord of the Rings, so I'll keeo an eye out for passages on that theme.

Also, guess what again -- We visited Ireland for a week!

On the way, we got to sit in the cockpit!

And on our first day, we went to Waterford... Vikings and pub lunches and history, oh my!