From Shaun Gunner, the chair of the Tolkien Society:
After Bilbo left the Shire on his eleventy-first birthday in The Lord of the Rings, Frodo toasted his uncle’s birthday each year on 22 September. The Society continues that tradition by continuing to toast Tolkien’s birthday.
J.R.R. Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein [South Africa] on 3 January 1892, and we invite you to celebrate the birthday of this much loved author by raising a glass at 9pm your local time.
The toast is simply:
“The Professor!”
I will do that.
Tolkien’s works continue to exert influence not only because they tell exhilarating stories, but because, especially for me, they so beautifully capture the Norse, Celtic, and Christian traditions Tolkien sought to reclaim for the modern world.
The stakes, warns Tolkien, couldn’t be higher.
Mordor represents the self-defeating triumph of technology over nature. Gollum and the Orcs embody what the divorce from nature makes of those no longer in harmony with their organic ties to society and the natural world. When the lust for power and treasure erase our natural instincts to care for our homes and kindred, we will devolve into monsters. Our lovely world, threatened by poison and dictatorship, can be lost forever if we let it fall to those crazed by greed and envy.
9:00 PM folks. Be there.
M.C. Tuggle, Writer 
I will honor Tolkien by pouring a pint, starting The Witcher, and doing some belated academic work tonight.
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H.P.
Now that’s a plan!
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For sure, Jack Daniels and I will drink to this extraordinarily creative writer and humanitarian. Thanks for the invite.
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American Daze Purple Haze,
I believe the good doctor would approve your choice of libations.
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Believe it or not, at the ripe old age of 63, I’m finally reading the Ring Trilogy. Guess better late than never. But I will certainly raise a glass to the man.
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Like Shakespeare, Tolkien means different things at different stages in your life. You’ve seen enough to truly appreciate Tolkien’s insights. Enjoy!
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Maybe that’s it. I had to grow up to enjoy it.
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Cheers to “The Professor”
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128! Wow! Thank you, Mike. Great post.
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What a tour de force he was.
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Thinking Moon,
Indeed.
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Yes, he was a tour de force. I shall toast as well. Everything he wrote, said, and authored, is so true and sadly what he said and wrote is coming true. We are on the brink of falling of a cliff because of corporation greed and power that control our government, Congress is lost to us. I don’t understand why there are not better safeguards when people run for President, such as: a psych test, a knowledge test, a civics test, and a portfolio. No one should be allowed to run for President if the have a dark history like a fake/fraud university, just to name one illegal activity by you know who.
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Agree! A well-deserved tribute, Mike!💕👍
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