December 24, 2020

 Now, yule is finally on our doorstep, and so is our last calendar entry: Miss Lina's hobbit yule video! Also, after the video and the making-of text, yer can find the link to our virtual Green Dragon yule party on Discord!

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Hobbit Yule Video 2020 – by Lina and Laurelin hobbits

Since 2012, I have made Yule videos where the hobbit players on Laurelin are invited to take part. Many players attend the video shoots, send in screenshots and offer up ideas. Many thanks to all who helped out! There were too many of yer to list in the credits (and I was also afraid I might miss one or two…). Yer help, assistance and good cheer was absolutely vital for the making of this video, though! I really hope I didn’t forget to add the pictures yer sent in…

If you think this all looks fun, please join us hobbits on Laurelin. There are lots of things happening here. You can read about the events in my own hobbit calendar or in the Bramblebury Gazette, the local hobbit newspaper.

So without further ado: The 2020 Laurelin hobbit Yule video (full-screen and high-definition recommended)! More on the making-of it below.

“Home alone” – The 2020 hobbit Yule video

It’s just a game?

Ever so often, I tell others that I play online video games. I really should have learned not to by now. Because pretty much every time I do, I can almost see the mental eye-rolls, the unspoken “oh grow up already”-thoughts, the sneering sense of superiority just waiting to burst out. Even more so when I tell them I spend a fair bit of time on this, that it is a hobby of mine, that I take it seriously and put a bit of effort into it.

The inevitable comment afterwards is usually: “Why? It’s just a game.”

I suppose it is. When stripped down to the bare necessities, I play “electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device… to generate visual feedback… shown on a video display device”. The games have graphics and sound, there are game rules to follow, mechanics to master and goals to meet.

There’s just one thing missing from the above. The other players.

Ah, that leads to more eye-rolling, of course. For many, online gaming is pretty much the pits. An endless chase for digital glory, overcoming pixel challenges, with no tangible rewards beyond being able to brag about it afterwards. A toxic wasteland of bullying, mean-spiritedness and pretty much every -phobia you can find in the dictionary. These views get stronger the less others have played games themselves.

How can I convey to them how wrong this is?

Of course, there are lots of examples of the above. But there are also so many examples of the opposite. Online gaming can be the ultimate social enabler for the lonely, the awkward, the old and the disabled. Shy persons in real-life can organize in-game events, involving dozens of other players. Gaming can stimulate creativity where you’d think none existed, leading players to draw, paint or write stories, song lyrics and poetry based on their game experiences. Myself, I create videos, although I didn’t know how to when I first started. And so on.

Eventually, you get to learn the players behind the in-game avatars. In LOTRO, I know several players who have passed away. That hurt bad, every time. I also know couples who met in-game, then met in real-life, married and had children. That brought absolute joy. You sometimes sense it when others has a particularly bad time in real-life. A word of comfort from a fellow player can mean the world then. Having someone willing to spend their time with you when real-life is nothing but sadness is pure gold.

It’s not just a game, really. It’s that too, but so much more besides. Treating it like it isn’t doesn’t help anyone.

 

 

So many grand players!

 

The 2020 hobbit Yule video

So what does the above have to do with the hobbity Yule video?

Well. It’s been a year, hasn’t it?

It has been a rollercoaster, also for the LOTRO players closest to me. When the Yuletide approached and Covid infection rates spiked again, it was easy to see how the unease spread. Among those who have hardly left their homes the last nine months. Those worrying about society opening up too fast. Those who got coughs and fevers themselves and worried until the test results came back. Those who found out they would not be able to spend the upcoming holiday with their loved ones, due to travel restrictions and quarantines. Those who lost someone near and dear to the illness.

Myself, I have gotten off easy. My job is secure, my family lives nearby, my friends are healthy and the response to the pandemic in my country is about as good as it gets. Still, when November approached, my own motivation for all things gaming had gone to rock bottom. It didn’t help that things were crazy busy at work. Most important, though? The endless slog towards the dark winter, full of pandemic measures and limitations and uncertainty, had more or less nuked my in-game creativity. It just wasn’t fun anymore.

Now what on earth to do with the Yule video?

I winged it. I set a couple of dates for meet-ups, then hoped that inspiration would strike somehow. Eventually it did.

Mostly by spending time with other players, catching on to whatever they said, then trying to tune it into something workable for the video. That helped a lot. Couldn’t have done it without them, really. And slowly, but surely, I got into the Yule mood again. Spending time with others players was the trick.

So there are two segments as usual. Both quite light-hearted and silly, perhaps to escape the current real-world shenanigans.

The first segment is a slow take, mostly hobbits walking in the cold northern lands looking for an oliphaunt, the ultimate Yule wish for a little hobbit lass. Shooting this segment was quite straightforward. It was mostly a matter of finding some recurring scenes (the lass being scared by the oliphaunts), before the payoff near the end. The biggest challenge was to catch a walking oliphaunt on video, especially getting the “between-tusks” shot. I’m happy with the result, beyond catching my own footprints a couple of times. I think the piece of music works really well here too.

The second segment is very much inspired by the “Home Alone” movies, although the video has near 20 children alone home, not just one. It also has a fair bit of Danny Elfman and Tim Burton thrown in for good measure. This segment was probably a bit too ambitious to do unscripted with 24 hobbits in the span of two hours, but I’m quite pleased with how it all turned out. There are some grand crowd scenes, the rascals gleefully embraced their home defense, I could play around with fast cuts and odd camera angles when editing, and I really love how the last charge shot turned out. I hope the results are worth it for those taking part too, there was some waiting between scenes after all. And my eternal thanks to the two burglars who were subject to much abuse during this shoot! grins

The end credits follows up on the “Home alone” scenes, with added Yule screenshots sent in by ca. 25 hobbits. Warm thanks to each and every one of you who did, as well as to those who took part during the video shoots and who helped kickstart my creativity when the Yuletide approached. I hope yer enjoy the end results too!

 

You can also ready this post at Miss Lina's biscuity burrow.

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That was our last entry for this year! 

If you long for more hobbity merriness during the next two days, come and visit our virtual Green Dragon on Discord! The inn is open today and tomorrow. You can meet other likeminded folks there, share pictures of yule food, yule music, stories, poems, videos and more. Enjoy the friendly company and some good chatter. There's a voice channel for those who prefer to use it, with yule music playing on the background. I, Pycella, will act as waitress at the inn and greet inn guests throughout the day (EU hours). Come to sip a pint or three in our cozy inn! Here's the link to our Discord server:  

https://discord.gg/9vjzd7Swye

If you would like some hobbity atmosphere at your burrow, your might want to listen to some Brandy Badger favourites! Here's the link to a Spotify playlist with some yule songs our kinship band usually plays when they celebrate yule.

Also, I would like to thank everyone who has helped with this year's yule calendar – for every entry, comment and share. I have never received so many entries for the calendar before (in the previous calendars, I used many entries from myself to fill the empty spots, but there was no need this time). In these challenging times, I am deeply touched to see how folks want to do their part in cheering up everyone. I have seen unexpected solidarity here and there, not the least in our LOTRO community. The spirit of yule is real, thanks to you all. I wish you a peaceful and merry yule and a more careless new year.

Warm regards,

Pycella

December 23, 2020

 Today, we reveal the yule video with yule card pictures! Earlier, we asked you to send pictures of your yule cards. We received dozens of them, and here's the result: a merry slideshow with two yule music pieces by Grimwater. Many thanks to everyone who sent pictures, especially Miss Holly, who sent most of them: 75 photos of yule cards! I even managed to fit them all into this video.

 

Tomorrow we'll reveal our last surprise, the hobbit yule video by Miss Lina, one of the hobbit yule highlights. Before that though, watch this humble slideshow and see what the Quickpost has to deliver this yule. I hope you enjoy it!

 

 

Yule cards from LOTRO players

December 22, 2020

 

For our 22nd yule calendar surprise, we reveal a yule article by Saelo, one of our newer kinship members! Here he introduces us to the special yule traditions of the Enedwaith hobbits: flying torches, fortune telling and yule pies, of course!

 

Yule Traditions of Enedwaith Hobbits

by Saelo Honeythumb

Yule is coming, which means more celebration is on the way. But Yule brings traditions with itself too. For some those traditions are not important, but for Hobbits traditions are important part of the Yule and celebrations. There are many traditions that are common everywhere, like raising Yule Tree, wassailing, special dances and songs and what not. But there are a few traditions only known by the Hobbits of Enedwaith, or carry a different meaning, like Yule Pie. On this article I will tell you details of those traditions.

One of interesting traditions Enedwaith Hobbits have is throwing torches to sky and watching it flying across it. But those torches are different than we know: smaller than usual and have a little handler to make it possible to throw as further as possible. Color of their flames also differ depending on the oils used to lit them. This tradition is probably about the days of old, when no one did know of fizzers, but after invention of fizzers Enedwaith wee hobbits still throw those torches to the sky on Yule day.             

Another interesting tradition of Enedwaith hobbits is fortune telling by ear, or fortune hearing, let’s say. It is mostly done by wee lasses who want to get wed. It is believed that when you keep a wish in your heart and sneak by the door of your neighbor, whatever you hear first is the answer for your wish. For example, if you hear something good, like "Glad to see you!", "Nicely done!" or anything that means well, your wish will become true till the next Yule. Hearing something bad means completely opposite indeed. But one can also hear something like "We got a little one but not big". Then, if your wish is getting wed, for example, means you will be wooed but not actually get wed. Meanings of things you hear between good and bad have their own explanations, in short. Yet, one should remember that fortune tellings (or hearing) never guarantees you anything!

There is one tradition about lasses (especially young lasses): Wedding Telling. It has no certainty, but it is believed that if someone ties a wedding ring to a string, closes their eyes and imagine the lad they would want to wed, then swings the string once on a glass of water, the number of times the ring touches the walls of the glass is the age that lass will wed!

The last interesting tradition is Yule Pie. It is not completely different than Shire hobbits, though, yet it has big differences. The first difference is one can find a jewel, coal or a precious stone inside your pie, yet it ain’t guaranteed! But after this, there is more – the mood you are in when you find ‘em matters too! If you find a jewel when you are in a bad mood, means you should travel for a while the next year to find your luck in other settlements. Although travelling might seem a bit disturbing business for Shire hobbits, it is kinda part of Enedwaith hobbits’ lives. But if you are in a good mood when you find a jewel inside your pie, means you should donate a big purse of coins to one hobbit who will wed the next year. Expensive business, I say, but traditions are very important and costs should not be cause you to dodge ‘em! And last, if you are calm, means you gotta wed yourself the next year. Indeed, type of the jewel, its stone and much more decides what kind of person you gotta wed, but ‘tis something gaffers and gammers can explain! Accordingly, finding a coal might mean buying new shoes (assure you, no one remembers why it is so!), starting a new business or spending more time with family and hobbits you love.

However, finding a precious stone is a little different, as first two findings are about what the person should do, but finding a precious stone is kinda fortune telling. You might get richer if you find it when you are in a good mood, or have problems in what you do if you are in a bad mood. But if you are in a calm mood, your next year will be cozy and peaceful around your family. At least this is what gammers say!

There is one ‘special’ Yule pie: filled with handkerchief. Whoever finds a handkerchief in their Yule pie means that person should do all the dishes after every party, banquet and whatnot! Its occurrence is very rare, because as you can think no one would want to find this pie. Yet, if you find it and no matter in which mood, you should get ready for tons of dishes!

One can think avoiding burdens of these traditions is a witty decision sometimes. But nay, sadly it ain’t. For example, once Bongo Dryfoot refused doing dishes after finding handkerchief in his pie and starting from the next Yule, he first lost all hair on his head, then on his face and at the end on his feet. And in case you wonder, he was just thirty years old!

The most terrifying case about avoiding traditions belongs to Violed Yellowtree, who refused to wed after finding a jewel in her pie. Next year she got kidnapped by brigands, fell in love with their leader but he didn’t even pay attention to her except the money her family would pay for her. After coming back she kept her secret for a while but one day came to his pa crying, told him everything she feels and wants. His pa, Gertech thought it was a delirium of young hobbit (she was twenty five after all!), yet, made her wed to Andro Wholebuddy, a respectable hobbit. But at the wedding night Violed escaped and no one saw her again or learnt anything about her tale. As you can see, avoiding what traditions require from you doesn’t end up with any good!

In short, traditions of Enedwaith hobbits are mostly about fortune telling or responsibilities of a hobbit about next year. Yet, these traditions are part of their lives and accepted by all. Well, almost!

December 21, 2020

 

For our 21st yule calendar surprise, we will share pictures of yule decorations! We have received some from Yamy, Ragwort and Adamantja. Let's see how they have decorated their burrows for yule!

You can get a larger version of the pictures by clicking/tapping on them.

 

PS. The Brandy Badgers are rehearsing some yule tunes in Michel Delving today. Come, have a dance and a chat with us! They are also wassailing in Winterhome on 27th December.

 

Ragwort's and Galifer's Pretty Burrow

 

Ragwort and Galifer, our kinship members, have put up some lovely yule decorations to cheer up their neighbours. It's like a little wonderland!

 

 

Adamantja's Yule Village

Speaking of little wonderlands, our other kinship member, Miss Adamantja, has one inside her home! It's a tiny yule village that comes to life when it gets dark... She managed to get some drawings of it without scaring them tiny villagers off!

 

 

Amy's Yule Lights

Last but not the least, there's a a furry paws hobbit enjoying the yule lights! Amy lives with Yamy. You might remember Yamy's cool winter recipes from earlier entries: a yule drink fitting for Shire pierates and a cool dessert that is probably every snowman's and snowhobbit's favourite!

December 20, 2020

For our 20th yule calendar surprise, we reveal an article by Miss Lina! She wanted to write something about the local yule TV traditions. Are they similar to the ones in yer country? Feel free to share yer local yule TV traditions in the comments!

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Same procedure as every year: Yule TV traditions

by Lina Willowwood

 

Yule is proper lazy, which means that there is a lot of time to watch TV. Here in Norway, the TV schedule on the yule days was more or less set in stone in decades long past. 

This is partly a result of the fact that until 1982, there was only one TV station broadcasting in Norway: the government-owned public broadcaster "Norsk rikskringkasting" (NRK, Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation). Unless yer were so lucky as to live near the border so yer could pick up the Swedish television signals, that is. This meant that everyone watched NRK. This meant that yer didn't tinker much with the schedule on traditional TV days like Christmas Eve. And we still got the same shows showing nowadays.

So what is the traditional NRK TV yule?

 

Kvelden før kvelden. Photo: NRK

 

It all starts on December 23. Traditionally, this is the final day of yule preparations, which means that the floors are scrubbed, the food is bought, and the yule tree is decorated. After all this, it is time to relax. By watching "Kvelden før kvelden" (The evening before the evening), an extremely cozy TV show where some exceptionally happy hosts do trivial chit-chats, invite artists to sing yule songs and have the Prime Minister talk about their yule traditions. And, most importantly, they have a chef who prepares yule food and tries to answer the most critical question of them all: How do you ensure that the crackling on the pork ribs is proper crispy? On Christmas Eve, 47% of Norwegians eat pork ribs for dinner, and no-one wants to experience the ultimate humiliation of serving chewy, tough crackling...

The show also contains the evening's highlight (or low point) for many: A 1963 TV skit called "Dinner for one", which is insanely popular in parts of Europe around yule. It tells the tale of a butler who serves a four-course dinner for an old lady celebrating her birthday. Given that her four invited friends are long deceased, the butler not only has to play their roles during dinner, but he also has drink all their toasts. Leading to much intoxicated slapstick. The skit has been shown here every December 23 since 1980. One year NRK broadcast it 15 minutes early. The resulting barrage of complaints from the audience caused it to be run again later in the evening. You can see the skit here.

 

"Same procedure as every year". Dinner for one. Photo: NDR

 

The traditions continue on Christmas Eve. Various children shows run in the morning, until 11AM. Then three big hitters are rolled out.

First, we get "Tre nøtter til Askepott" (Three wishes for Cinderella), a 1973 Czech/East German version of the Cinderella story. It is quite popular in many European countries, but in Norway, there simply won't be yule without it. The version show here is notable for being dubbed, with the same actor voicing all the roles, male and female, over the original Czech soundtrack. It works somehow.

Tre nøtter til Askepott. Photo: NRK

 

 
 Next up is "Reisen til Julestjernen" (Journey to the Christmas Star), a 1976 movie version of an old Norwegian fairy-tale theater play. Very wholesome and with sound morals, this is a veritable who's who of Norwegian theater actors from the 70's hamming it up on the big screen. It is perhaps most notable for having the same actor that dubbed the Cinderella movie in a lead role. The movie was remade in 2012, but the new version isn't even half as popular as the one shown on TV.
 
 

Reisen til Julestjernen. The king in the middle is Knut Risan, the Cinderella dubber. Photo: IMBD

 

And then, at 1:55PM, it is Disney time!

In 1958, Disney made a Christmas special called "From all of us to all of you", with vintage cartoons and clips from animated Disney classics, ending with Jiminy Cricket singing "When you wish upon a star". This show is remarkably popular in both Norway and Sweden, not least because the old government-owned TV stations rarely ran such frivolous things as high-quality animation back in the day. Nowadays, this is a must-see tradition on Christmas Eve.

 

From all of us to all of you. Photo: NRK 

 

After this, you get more children's shows, a family-friendly Christian service at 4PM, and a boy's choir singing Christmas carols at 5PM. At which time most families are digging into the pork ribs with hopefully crispy crackling, or unwrapping presents.

Will these traditions stay, though? They are a remnant of a time when everyone watched the broadcasts from a single TV station. Nowadays, streaming services are taking over. There are also recurring rights discussions, which leads to a worry that Disney+ will keep the rights to "From all of us to all of you" in the near future. And the 70's movies are getting a bit long in the tooth for children, who really are the prime audience in the early hours of Christmas Eve. So in a few years' time, the schedule might look quite different.

Still, new traditions come to as well. Given that most Norwegians love slow TV, the show "Ribba - grad for grad" (Pork ribs - by degrees) was first broadcast in 2016 and is still shown every Christmas Eve. This is a broadcast of pork ribs slow-cooking for 7 hours, with yule songs, graphs showing the cooking temperature of the ribs, and lots of close-ups of dripping bubbling fatty meats. Sheer heaven. And you won't get chewy, tough crackling with this recipe. You can see the show here (in Norwegian). 

 

Ribba - grad for grad. Photo: NRK 

December 19, 2020

 

 

For our 19th yule calendar surprise, we have more LOTRO screenshots from Piandao. They are as pretty as yule cards. Grand work again, Piandao! After the pictures, I have added a short note about something special that concerns some of our kinship members.

 

Time to wish upon a star

 

Toast for tomorrow

 

Find friends in unexpected places

 

Yule is coming your way

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Now, the hobbity calendar is meant to cheer folks up for yule, but I want to add a short note about a more serious matter, since this calendar can reach so many kind and helpful souls all around Middle-earth. This year, our kinship member Wiberic wanted to provide a yule illustration for our calendar as well. (Yer might have spotted their other character, Demelsa, in yesterday's video.) But then, something awful happened. Wiberic lost her dear sister Kim to the awful disease that has been spreading all over. Their family is going through a very hard time. Many have offered help and support to them, and hence there's a fundraising campaign for the family. Wiberic and Daffney (Kim's other sibling who is also in our kinship) are both dear to us, so I offered to add a note about their campaign to this calendar. If you'd like to help too and add your kind words to the fundraising page, feel free to. Yer can also learn more about their wonderful sister there.

 

These are difficult times for many. Folks have lost their dear ones, jobs, and might be locked inside their burrows for a long time. It's hard to feel merry in this situation, I am sure. Still, I hope that the little things like the entries in this calendar can bring a smile on people's faces and warm up their hearts. If yer ever need some hobbity cheer, yer know where to find it. Let's hold on together to get everyone through these challenging times.

"...in the end it’s only a passing thing, this shadow; even darkness must pass."

- Samwise Gamgee          

December 18, 2020

 

For our 18th entry, we have a video by Aodhfin and his Rowdy Rascals! Here, they perform a wintery yule song together. Aodhfin is a grand hobbit who joined our Grand Order kinship earlier this year. He's often playing tunes and singing songs at the Green Dragon. And yer might spot the other rascals there too...

 

 

Winter Dreams by Aodhfin and them Rowdy Rascals

December 17, 2020

 

Yule is getting closer, day by day! Mayhaps it's good to start pondering on what yer will do during the yuletide. Here's a moving drawing on how many hobbits spend their yule days. The pictures and the video are by me, and the merry music by Grimwater.

 

What hobbits do on yule - a LOTRO video

December 16, 2020

 

Today, we reveal another yule recipe from Yamy! It's a dessert that will probably go well together with that cool and creamy drink we shared here on December 7th. If yer prefer cool things for your yule party, these will be a perfect fit! And I bet them fit in yer belly perfectly too!

Tembleque, is snowy white coconut a pudin!

Ingredients:

•     coconut milk
•     sugar
•     cornstarch
•     salt
•     toasted coconut
•     cinnamon

1. In medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine coconut milk, sugar, cornstarch and salt, stirring to dissolve cornstarch. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and is smooth and thick, about 5 minutes.
2. Pour into six 4-oz. molds, or one 3-cup mold. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until cold and firm, at least 3 hours, or up to 48 hours.
3. To unmold, run thin knife around edge. Invert mold (or molds) onto serving plate. Top with toasted coconut, if desired. Sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired.
4. Fruits (fresh or dried) can be added optional on the mix or on top.