#tss2020advent7

[thorinlandscaping]

Tolkien Secret Santa Advent Calendar Day 7: Yule Log

Ao3

Summary: Frodo closed his eyes and wished as hard as he could; I hope every Yule is like this from now on.

Rating: General audiences; Word count: ~750

A/N: Foreyule is equivalent to December, the 14th of Foreyule would be equivalent to the 8th of December which is when Yule log’s are typically lit. ‘Yuletide’ refers to the season around Yule.

@officialtolkiensecretsanta​

Frodo’s favourite time of the year had always been Yule, and his favourite part had always been the Yule log. Telling and hearing ghost stories around the fire with his parents and playing card games in Brandy Hall, winning and losing in equal measure; he held these memories close to his heart.

He had worried, slightly, over whether his uncle Bilbo would bother with a Yule log, or with Yule altogether. His uncle was notorious in the Shire for being one of the few Hobbits that never celebrated during the Yuletide, and he hadn’t mentioned any plans to change this to Frodo.

But, on the fourteenth day of Foreyule, Frodo returned home for dinner after a long day of fooling around with his friends to find his uncle, too, arriving at Bag End and lugging a large log behind him.

“Ah, Frodo!” uncle Bilbo exclaimed when he saw him, “Do this old Hobbit a favour and help me bring our Yule log in?”

Frodo blinked in surprise- they were going to have a Yule log?- before dashing over to help his uncle with an, “Of course, uncle Bilbo!”, grinning all the while. 

The two hobbits managed to get the log in the fire pit without much hassle, their only struggle being when Frodo nearly tripped over the carpet. 

“There we go, now we just have to light it. Now, let me get out the remains of my last Yule log,” Bilbo said, crouching by the fireplace and grabbing an old, bedraggled looking piece of burnt wood. Frodo was practically jumping in excitement. They were celebrating Yule!

“I’m sure you know I haven’t celebrated Yule in years, since my mother’s death, but I decided this year we could celebrate Yule together. I heard from some of your friends that Yule is your favourite holiday, so I couldn’t just ignore it,” uncle Bilbo said, standing up and dusting his pants off. 

“Thank you uncle! I’m sure it’ll be the best Yule I’ve ever had!” Frodo exclaimed. 

“Well, I’m not sure about all that, but I’ll do my very best to make it a good one. Now, would you like to light the Yule log? Here, here, take this. This was the last Yule log that was burned in Bag End, well, it must have been fifty-five years ago now! My mother found it that year,” Bilbo said, looking slightly wistful but happy nonetheless.

“Uncle Bilbo, thank you so much for this honour,” Frodo said smiling at his uncle.

“Nonsense, nonsense. Come now, enough dilly-dallying. It’s bad luck to leave the Yule log in the hearth unburnt! Light it, my young nephew,” Bilbo said abashedly, waving his hands about as if Frodo had offended him.

Frodo nodded and sat to light the piece of wood his uncle had given him, and then placed it into the fireplace to set the Yule log alight. It didn’t take long for the log to go up in flames and Frodo smiled all the while.

The two hobbits basked in the warmth of the growing flame for a while, a comfortable and relaxed silence settling over them. Frodo tended to the fire as needed, ensuring the Yule log didn’t extinguish itself right at the beginning of the season and giving them bad luck. 

After a while, Bilbo said, “Well then Frodo, now that all this lighting business is over, what would you say to a slice of fruit cake?” 

“What kind of hobbit would I be if I said no to fruit cake?” Frodo exclaimed. Fruit cake was his favourite cake, which his uncle well knew. His uncle laughed.

“Quite right you are, Frodo. I’ll go get us some now,” he chuckled, making his way to the pantry and leaving Frodo to watch the flames lick the log. His uncle returned quickly and handed Frodo a plate which held a (rather large) piece of fruit cake.

“Thank you uncle,” Frodo said for the umpteenth time that day, taking the plate and taking a seat in one of the chairs.

The two hobbits sat around the fire, eating fruit cake and trading laughter and ghost stories they’d heard in their years past. His first Yule in Bag End, Frodo thought, was going to be a good one. 

On the eve of Yule, after a couple weeks of festive tradition with his uncle, Frodo knew exactly what he was going to wish for as he lit the candles using the still-burning Yule log. 

Frodo closed his eyes and wished as hard as he could; I hope every Yule is like this from now on.

fin.