Father Christmas Letters: 1930

[Estelyn Telcontar]

The first brief letter of 1930 is dated November 29th and acknowledges the letters written by the boys - apparently quite a few from Christopher and Michael. The second one is the Christmas letter, addressed to "my dears". In it, Father Christmas praises the North Polar Bear's helpfulness, which caused the annual calamity (rather than his usual clumsiness). Being stuck out in the snow caused the whooping cough which was already mentioned in the first letter.

The picture shows the party which took place upon the NPB's recovery, attended by Snowboys and Polar Cubs (the latter identified as PB's nephews, though not yet named).

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_2hN6VwzPAUg/SyLvzxD_QcI/AAAAAAAACIs/SYk8HANIt0Q/DSC_3801%5B5%5D.jpg

JRRT's pictorial panels are not quite in chronological order - the small drawings in the middle show FC finding NPB out in the snow, then the bear wrapped up and with his feet in a hot bath. The top depicts the party while it was still fairly decorous - and the decorated room. On the bottom the young guests are pulling a cracker, which prompts PB's recovery.

The last paragraph of the letter hints at answers to questions that the children may have asked. Grandfather Yule as FC's father is understandable, but I'm trying to figure out who his "green brother" could be - any ideas? The postscript to the main letter is an interesting sidenote: "Chris has no need to be frightened of me". :eek:

[Guinevere]

Concerning the "green brother of Father Christmas" : I have just recently read quite a bit in the internet about St. Nicholas and Father Christmas. (I had complained in Facebook that our "Samichlaus" was beeing replaced by an American SantaClaus, and Mithalwen then said, that Father Christmas was originally dressed in green. This spurred my interest)

In past centuries, the English Father Christmas was also known as Old Father Christmas, Sir Christmas, and Lord Christmas. Father Christmas is said to wear (these days) a bright red suit, but in Victorian and Tudor times he wore a bright green suit.

Father Christmas typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, but was neither a gift bringer nor particularly associated with children.[citation needed] A traditional figure in English folklore, Father Christmas is identified with the old belief in the Old English god Woden.
In the English-speaking world, the character called "Father Christmas" influenced the development in the United States of Santa Claus, and in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, most people now consider them to be interchangeable. However, although "Father Christmas" and "Santa Claus" have for most practical purposes been merged, historically the characters have different origins and are not identical.
Some authors such as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien,have insisted on the traditional form of Father Christmas in preference to Santa Claus.

See also Father Christmas green or red? (http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/york/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8394000/8394067.stm)
and The English Father Christmas, a separate origin (http://www.arthuriana.co.uk/xmas/pages/english.htm)

Of course Tolkien was aware of all this! When first reading the F.C. letters I had briefly wondered about the green brother too, but forgot to investigate.

Perhaps the Tolkien children had been affected by whooping cough too...
And I would have loved to see what they had written in their letters to Father Christmas!