Before you can get started, the first things you have to do is find yourself a Tree. A holiday tree of some sort is very common in many of your modern celebrations, from the pagan worship of tree spirits to the Christian idea of a Tree of Life, decorated at Christmas. In Middle Earth, however, the holiday tree is of Elvish origin, though it is not clear how it came to the hobbits; but the "adoration" of tall, glittering trees dates back to the Eldar Days, when the Two Great Trees were still in the world, and when Elves were said to coax starlight down to the tops of trees. Certainly modern-day elves feel a special kinship to beautiful mallorn trees, and the Kings of Gondor were responsible for the legendary White Tree of Minas Tirith.

My goodness, what a history lesson this is turning into!

In past times, Hobbit's yule trees were traditionally found in the woodlands and cut down in by hand, but this practice fell on disfavor after the Hobbits of Buckland discovered they had angered the strange trees of the Old Forest. After this, a few enterprising farmers in the North Farthing started growing cultivated trees which never grow more than six feet in height, and which grow very fast. So we solved the problem that way. Some hobbits, however, also grow their own trees in their gardens so that they will last year after year. These are decorated with lights and special decforations for feeding the birds.

Closely related to the use of evergreen holiday trees is the custom of making wreaths and garlands out of trimmed-off branches from the yule trees. There are always plenty, and long ago it was considered a shame to just burn them or throw them away while they were still fresh and green. And so, we Hobbits being very practical people, we tied them together in bunches of string and colored ribbons and made long, roping garlands to hang on fences, around doors and windows, and line mantlepieces with.

The custom of making wreaths grew out of the evergreen tradition from the earliest days, and an evergreen wreath is almost always hung on Hobbit doors as a symbol of good luck. We adopted the custom of wreaths from an old Elvish custom of unclear origin, but we have since made it our own. Over the years we added small lights and ornamnets to our wreaths and garlands, so our Holes look quite festive after dark.

Another evergreen that is a big part of the Hobbit Yule is mistletoe. In the Eldar Days, certain humans believed that this plant was sacred to ancient gods because it grew magically in the high branches of winter-bare trees. The Elves had a traditional belief that mistletoe was the result of an ancient Elvish blessing upon the trees; a reminder of the great forests of old. Hobbits, being more practical, recogbnize it as nothing more magical than a green parasite which lives high in the trees, all year round. Nevertheless, Hobbits adore mistletoe. To us, it serves as a symbol of our own spirit of resiliance in an otherwise hostile environment, which came directly from our own ancient past, when hobbits were nomads in the far north. And so for us, mistletoe also represents good luck, safe homes, and strong families. We wear it on our coats, over our thresholds, and over our doorways. We display it in bundled springs, tied with colored ribbon, or in hanging balls. And when we stand beneath it, it is an invitation to sneak a kiss to a loved one.

A big part of the colder season is drinking lots of hot apple cider, hot buttered rum, and hot chocolate. there is no special reason for doing this, other than these comforting drinks are warming and sociable, and make us feel very, very good.

The best way to make hot apple cider is to make sure the apple juice from your market stand has a thick pulp-like texture. Heat this on your stovetop, adding a stick of cinammon and a single nutmeg. You can add a few cloves or allspice balls, too, if you prefer. Then pull your chair up before the fire, perhaps with a couple of gingerbread cookies, and relax.

Hot buttered rum is more of a tavern drink, and the local tavern of frogmorton, called "The floating Log", makes a very famous rum drink with imported rum from distant Dale. However, the actual amount of rum in the drink is very small. You start with a plain apple cider, prepared as I just descibed, but add a twist of lemon, two ounces of Rum, and a pat of real butter. It is best served in a mug or pewter tankard with the butter floating on the top.

Hot chocolate, however, is a drink that even the youngest Hobbits can enjoy. My advice is to go to your local market stand and buy a large can of powdered cocoa. Per jar, use a half-cup of cocoa, a cup of sugar (I might also recommend using Splenda as an excellent sugar substitute for Hobbits trying to watch their weight), three cups of instant dry milk, and just a dash of salt. Sift these ingrediants three times in a sifter. Use three or four heaping teaspoons of your mix, in your favorite earthnware mug, and pour boiling water over it. Many hobbits like to drop in a marshmallow, a peppermint stick, or even a chunk of real chocolate to stir in for extra richness.

But while we love our hot drinks, we are also fond of holiday cookies, about which more will be said on the following page. We are especially fond of gingerbread. As Dwarves have Cram and Elves have their honeyed lembas, Hobbits have gingerbread - and it can either come as a sweet, soft cake-like bread, or as sweet, spicey cookies.

Sometimes a wreath serves no other purpose than to frame a row of candles. Usually, we display four candles, one for each week of the Yule season. But we light pretty candles all over our homes just because we like them. And sometimes a wreath can be used to frame a single large candle, or even an entirely different centerpiece.

Candles are very important to Hobbits, and we like to use as many of them as possible, especially brightly colored ones with holiday scents.

Many cultures in your world have legends of a magical, mythical gift-giving spirit, such as Santa Claus and Father Christmas. The Shire has a wonderful mythic gift-giver in the person of Father Yule. Hobbit children love him dearly, and they believe that he lives in a big, beautiful house way up north, beyond the iron hills, far from any lands that Hobbits ever visit. Father Yule shares his home with wonderful Elven friends who make many wonderful toys for the children of middle Earth. On December 24, Father Yule takes these presents, riding his white reindeer, and gives them to good Hobbit children while they sleep. Presents are alwasys found the next morning under the tree, and most children leave father Yule a thank you gift before they go to bed, usually consisting of egg nog and cookies. They sometimes leave an apple for the reindeer,too.

and now, you are all set to start making your own Holiday Decorations! Just go to the next page to find out how.