For our seventh Yule Calendar surprise, we have a Yule card crafted and sent by Miss Tulppaani! You might spot her at the Green Dragon Fridays on the LOTRO Laurelin server. If you are lucky, she might strum a bit on her lute and make everyone dance around her!
Our sixth yule calendar surprise comes from Yamy. Our Hobbity Yule Calendar is about small things that bring people big joy. In this spirit, Yamy wanted to share the daily list of small things that bring them big Joy. Yamy also sent some pictures from their burrow.
by Yamy
• Wake up in the morning with the song of many birds & receive a lot tiny kisses from this little guy that I named "El-mozo".
• Take a little sunshine to warm the old bones, like my sister's cat ''Lucky'' knows well.
• Tend a tiny garden that drives even in winter time, over the small vintage table that my long gone granpa inherited me.
• Admire the blooms of winter like these "Trompeta de Angel".
• Enjoy a soothing infusion made with fresh "Paletaria" herbs from my garden.
• Play my favorite Middle Earth themed game LOTRO & decorate my game house for Winter time. (Screenshots will be provided later in this Yule Calendar.)
• Rest at the end of the day with my little furry hobbit "Amy" beside a warm Christmas tree.
Our fifth surprise comes from Miss Corydalia. She has written a song called A December Night. Time to sing along! This song has all the elements to make a hobbit smile.
(The person behind Corydalia has also other characters: Manadhlaer and Saethwen. You might meet the latter one often at our Green Dragon Friday gatherings.)
by Miss Corydalia Birdsfoot of the Little Delving Birdsfoots
with extreme apologies to W.S. Gilbert
When a hobbit’s not engaged in digging taters (digging taters)
Nor is elbow-deep in scrubbing pots and pans (pots and pans)
His capacity for holiday enjoyment (day enjoyment)
Grows apace, and so his winter waist expands (waist expands)
There’s a pie upon the counter from his mother (from his mother)
But the Yuletide decoration’s to be done (to be done)
The mulled cider’s quite delicious – have another (have another)
A December night is quite a nippy one (nippy one)!
Chorus: The mulled cider’s quite delicious – have another, have another
A December night is quite a nippy one, nippy one!
No, the Shire-folk aren’t having mad adventures (mad adventures)
When a hobbit isn’t bothered with bad pies (with bad pies)
He loves to hear the neighbours’ voices singing (voices singing)
And delights in hobbit-children’s joyous cries (joyous cries)
When the villager feels everyone’s his brother (one’s his brother)
Then he doesn’t mind the early-setting sun (setting sun)
The mulled cider’s quite delicious – have another (have another)
A December night is quite a nippy one (nippy one!)
Chorus: The mulled cider’s quite delicious – have another, have another
A December night is quite a nippy one, nippy one!
When it’s Yuletide and there’s cider, have another, have another!
A December night is quite a nippy one – Nippy one!
Our fourth entry is a Yule song by me. I have written this one for our kinship band, the Brandy Badgers, who rehearse their music at the Michel Delving square today (on the LOTRO Laurelin server). I am not sure if we play this one, but we might rehearse some of our other Yule songs. Welcome to join for a dance and a chat!
One of the Brandy Badgers loves the pibgorn and is always happy to play it. Some might think that pibgorns are a bit annoying and squeaky, but they work well in some upbeat songs with a relatively fast tempo. Here's a song where it is used as well: Must be Pibgorn. It is about someone who wishes for a pibgorn for Yule.
What’s that yule box ‘neath the tree?
Is it a gift left there for me?
It is small, long and thin
It’s long and thin
It’s the thing, special thing
Must be pibgorn, must be pibgorn
Must be pibgorn, the gift for me
What is that high merry squeak?
Higher than a shriek?
The sound that Lina cannot bear?
A sound only dogs can hear?
Can you hear, can you bear?
It’s the thing, special thing
Must be pibgorn, must be pibgorn
Must be pibgorn, the gift for me
What’s the grandest thing to play?
What drives the shrews away?
What sound goes through your head?
What might even make you deaf?
Grand to play, shoos away
Can you hear, can you bear?
It’s the thing, special thing
Must be pibgorn, must be pibgorn
Must be pibgorn, the gift for me
The music flows through yer head
Volume that makes yer deaf
Drink some brandy and squeak it more
Tap yer toe, just let it go
Makes yer deaf, blows yer head
Grand to play, shoos away
Can you hear, can you bear?
It’s the thing, special thing
Must be pibgorn, must be pibgorn
Must be pibgorn, the gift for me
Toot toot toot toot
Toot toot toot toot
Toot toot toot toot
Toot toot toot toot
No more horn, squeak pibgorn
Grand to play, shoos away
Can you hear, can you bear?
It’s the thing, special thing
Must be pibgorn, must be pibgorn
Must be pibgorn, the gift for me
Must be pibgorn, must be pibgorn
Must be pibgorn, the gift for me
The melody is best sung to this Yule song by Bob Dylan. In the Brandy Badgers version, the accordion track is played by the almighty pibgorn.
For today's surprise, we have a lovely yule painting by Ena. It is a "Yule tree home, not of bricks and beams but of hopes and dreams". How wonderful would it be to live inside a tree, surrounded by the pine scent and an evergreen walls.
A friend, one quite intelligent painter, master Art, has helped in the painting process, and Ena has made some adjustments too.
Regarding paintings, miss Lina is gathering the Laurelin hobbits today for making the annual Hobbit Yule Video. If you are a hobbit and would like to join, see more information in the Gazette!
Time for our second surprise: a tale called A Wintry Spirit. It will be published in two parts. First part is here, and the second part will be published later. Then you will also find out who is the mysterious person behind this story! The story also seems to feature my pie shop, and other hobbit burrows. Is one of them yours?
Maybe you have seen them already somewhere in the Shire, maybe not, but seasonal spirits dwell around the fields, rivers and forest. So was also the case for this Wintry Spirit who woke up a bit too early while autumn was still going on.
Now that he was awakened, he thought it was time to play the Snow calling music to introduce the winter season. So he took his lute and started playing in the dreary rain, hoping it would stop soon. He kept playing and playing, but nothing changed. The longer he stayed in the rain, the more miserable he felt. Then suddenly his stomach made some rumbling noises and made him remember his last meal. He did some complicated calculations but gave up and came to the conclusion that it was still not time for Winter. So, he decided to go on a quest for some heartwarming food.
So he arrived in Hobbiton-Bywater and his curiosity was awakened by Holly Hornblower. She offered him one of her remarkable pies. But after seeing the pies on the table outside in the rain, next to the rotten berries, the Wintry Spirit decided wisely to pass on this one and continued on his quest.
And there he found a little village with the first traces that winter was going to come. This made the Wintry Spirit really happy, although with an empty belly he was feeling cold, so he went on exploring the village. He checked his clothes again to realize he was completely soaked. Maybe he should try to go inside one of these houses to warm himself up.
So he moved around and saw suddenly an older person, seemingly somewhat grumpy going into an outhouse and the Spirit saw this as a good opportunity to sneak into the burrow. So he ran to the door and tried to open it, but ... the door was locked!!! The Spirit left the garden and went looking for other burrows.
Finally, he found a door that was not locked. It was nicely warm in there, but... that painting he saw there gave him chills. No wonder that the owner needed so much liquor next to that painting. No, he couldn't stay there any longer.
Up to the next house he went, it was pretty warm again, and he felt at ease here, and so he peeked around. Soon he also found a really comfortable chair. Finally, some rest! He tried to sit on it, but... yikes!!! There must be needles or such in it! No way that he could sit comfortable on it. And there he goes, off to the next house.
Arriving there, same story as before. The fireplace was lit, and this time there was even a table full of food. Oh, he was almost going to cheer till he approached the table. He realized that there was barely anything special on it, not which he was hoping for. Hmm... if this house has food, then the others might have better dishes. Hop, on the road again!
Some locked doors later, he arrived at a burrow where a dog was keeping watch. Luckily, he could hide in time behind a small construction. Hmm, if there is a guard, there must be some decent food or chair inside. He managed to keep the dog distracted and sneaked into the house quickly, but... he regretted that very fast! More dogs were inside. Away, not staying there any second longer! These folks should put a warning sign!!!
As fast as his feet could carry him, he ran away, getting more and more hungry and tired! So he tried a few more burrows. The food already started to look more appealing, although... why putting an apple in the mouth of a roasted boar? That is something he couldn't understand. But also he noticed more and more Yule decoration, which made him happy. There must be a house somewhere that is just perfect, as we are already having these nice results. Let's go complete the quest!
And there it was!!!! The ultimate burrow! Cozy, warm, decorated, pastry trees and marvelous looking pies! He had no choice as these looked so delicious. He grabbed a pie, took a seat and let the smell of the pie seduce him, and then he started munching. Furthermore, he munched and munched till he was completely stuffed. Never ever had he eaten such delicious pies before. He must find the recipes for these, so he started searching for them, but did he manage to find it?
To be continued...
It is time to reveal the first surprise of this year's Hobbity Yule Calendar! We will start with the winter issue of the Shire Forecast. This is a seasonal publication for the hobbit roleplayers playing the Lord of the Rings Online on the Laurelin server. It usually covers the weather, recent happenings in the Shire, and events to look forward to. Yuletide is quite eventful, so here you can get an overview of all things of hobbit interest.
Here is the winter issue of the Shire Forecast. Here you can read about the weather, latest news, and the events hobbits might be interested in.
Snowflakes soar
The days are short and dark, the last leaves fall from the trees, the fields are covered in frost, and the gammers are knitting furiously… These are all signs that winter is finally here. After many warm months, it certainly feels colder than ever before. The weather gammers even predict we’ll see a few snowflakes in the Shire this year. Thus, this is a good time to dust off your warmest clothes and make sure you are well stocked for the time ahead.
This autumn has been hard for many Shire folk. Some have been in low spirits, others have been burdened with chores, and yet others have fallen ill. The inns and regular meeting places have been quieter. Thankfully, hobbits take care of their friends and family and do their best to help them through hard times and recovery. Even as the days get darker, the upcoming Yuletide has sprung hope in many hobbit hearts. Comfort and joy are the perfect remedies after a challenging autumn. Lit Yule trees pop up in the gardens, the innkeeps start serving their best mulled wine and cider, and catchy Yule songs get stuck in your mind to keep you in the right spirit. There’s even been talk that the rumoured town of Winterhome will soon open its gates to everyone who enjoys wintertime fun, cleaning up mess, throwing rotten fruit at bad actors and so on.
A special musical tool and tea experiments
Shirriff Nimelia hasn’t been idle for the past few months. She has been working on improving a special tool for musicians. It helps bands sort out their notes faster, in addition to some other practical features. We also believe that it checks if the band members have valid drum licences. The Brandy Badgers have already tried this new tool out, finding it really useful. Even though it lacks a feature to keep the Badgers line straight at their rehearsals, the band members are quite grateful and promise to throw only the softest snowballs at miss Nimelia when the Shirriff season arrives in December. And yet, promises are sometimes broken…
Things have also improved elsewhere. Barmy Rootknot, the Green Dragon innkeep, has experimented with tea brewing. REAL tea, with a tea flavour in it. We can thank master Wybert Diggings for this new development. He has been training Barmy in the art of tea brewing, and we are slowly getting some good results, according to master Wybert. So if you look for a warm drink that doesn’t make you slur your words too much during an inn night, try Barmy’s new tea. If you have the money to cover the high price, that is.
Yuletide creativity
Hobbits like to get in the Yuletide spirit by working on various Yuletide projects. These bring hobbits together to create something merry with each other. For many years, such a project has been miss Lina’s fancy hobbit Yule drawing. To draw it properly, she asks other hobbits for assistance to make her ideas come true on canvas. Check the Gazette for dates when you can help. The end result is quite stunning and life-like. It will be revealed in the hobbit Yule calendar, another creative project to which all hobbits have a chance to contribute. The Yule calendar reveals a surprise each day from 1st to 24th December and helps everyone get in a merry mood. Also, the Shire poets are happy to hear that Nannie is organizing a Wintertide Poetry Competition in Frostbluff. The winner gets the fancy title, “Wintertime Bard”. There are many chances to get creative and spread joy among Shirefolk!
Eventful times ahead
If autumn was a bit lazy on the event front, December will bring lots of things to do. In addition to the regular events like the hobbit markets, Fed Poets meetups, Badgers rehearsals and the Green Dragon Fridays, there are special Yule events every few days. Many chances to meet friends and make new ones too!
On December 2nd, the Hobbitry band, The Bullroarers, will gather around a Yule tree and roar a bit while they play merry Yule songs at the Dancing Coney Inn in Sootcrest. There is also an OAKS concert on the same day starting a bit later in Oldfurlong. Master Geoadoc, our pipeweed vendor, is planning a Yuletide market for 9th December. On December 10th, the locals will meet at Songburrow Hall to raise the Yule tree and start off the “Shirriff season” (when folks start throwing snowballs at bounders). On the 22nd, it is time for the last Green Dragon Friday of the year and the annual Yule party there.
After the Yule days, the Badgers will go wassailing in Winterhome. On the 29th, we will meet up at the Plough and Stars in Brockenborings instead of the Green Dragon (where Barmy is hopefully spending his time cleaning up the soggy rug). This will be the evening to celebrate the new year and light up many fizzers! On January 1st, it is time to gather in Frostbluff for a grand snowball battle. And a bit into the new year, the Brandy Badgers will go wassailing in the Shire, to bless the local farms for a good harvest in autumn. Many things to come! The Gazette will keep you on track regarding all these various events.
Some hobbits don’t have much company during the Yule days. Thankfully, Barmy opens up some special rooms at the Green Dragon where everyone is welcome. There will be food, music, maybe other entertainment too, and above all, other hobbits to chat with. The rooms will be open on December 24th and 25th. The exact details will be revealed in the last entry of the Hobbity Yule Calendar on December 24th, along with the Yule drawing by miss Lina.
Yuletide is indeed busy times, as you can see from the long list of events to choose from. Some folks grumble at the silly hustle and bustle, while others embrace the season with open arms. We are all free to enjoy Yule our own way: as a peaceful respite from all chores and worries, or as a chance to throw yourself in completely in the merry-making. May the Yuletide bring more hope for those who face challenges in their lives – the tide is turning and there will be more light soon. And if you feel lonely and down, just stop by at the closest inn for some friendly faces (and bounders hiding from the snowballs). Merry Yuletide everyone!
