22 September: Hobbit Day

Hobbit Day is the birthday of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins in JRR Tolkien's books, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit was published this day in 1937. In the books both Bilbo and Frodo were said to be born on September 22nd, but in different years. Bilbo was born in the year of 2890 and Frodo in the year of 2968. 

1. According to Tolkien, Hobbits are "relatives" of the race of men, although they tend to regard themselves as a separate species, since they have lost the genealogical details of how they are related to us.
2. Tolkien's explanation for the word "hobbit" is that it was derived from holbytla (plural holbytlan), meaning "hole-builder" in Old English. He may have been influenced by Sinclair Lewis's Babbitt.
3. There are three different races of hobbits. Bilbo and his family, the ones who live in the Shire, are Harfoots. They lived on the lowest slopes of the Misty Mountains in holes, or Smials, dug into the hillsides. The term is analogous to "hairfoot". The Stoors were shorter and stockier and were good swimmers. They lived in marshes and are the only race of hobbits able to grow beards. Déagol and Sméagol/Gollum were descended. Stoor is an Old English word meaning "strong". Finally there are Fallohides (a name derived from "fallow" and "hide", meaning "pale skin") who were taller and fairer and lived in the woods. They were more adventurous than the average hobbit. Bilbo and three of the four principal hobbit characters in The Lord of the Rings (Frodo, Pippin and Merry) had Fallohide blood through their common ancestor, the Old Took.
4. Tolkien envisaged hobbits as "fattish in the stomach, shortish in the leg. A round, jovial face; ears only slightly pointed and 'elvish'; hair short and curling (Brown). The feet from the ankles down, covered with brown hairy fur. Clothing: Green velvet breeches; Red or Yellow waistcoat; brown or green jacket; Gold (or brass) buttons; a dark green hood and cloak (belonging to a dwarf)."
5. Hobbits are between two and four feet (0.61–1.22m) tall, the average height being three feet six inches (1.07m).
6. They dress in bright colours, favouring yellow and green, and rarely wear Shoes, since the soles of their Feet are leathery and tough. They are adept with slings and throwing stones.
7. A hobbit's life expectancy is 100 years on average. They come of age at the age of 33 and can live as long as 130 years, especially if they happen to own a magic ring...
8. Hobbits are depicted as shy creatures, fond of home comforts, food (six meals a day if possible) and partying. However, they are more than capable of defending their land if the need arises. They eat cake, Bread, meat, Potatoes, ale and Tea, and smoke pipe weed. Birthdays are a great excuse for a party, like Bilbo's birthday party at the beginning of Fellowship of the Ring. Food, Fireworks, dancing and much merriment were the order of the day. On their birthdays, hobbits give presents to others rather than receive them. Old and useless objects, which may have been given as presents over and over are called "mathom" in their culture. Throwing a party or a feast is deemed an appropriate way to celebrate Hobbit Day.
9. In the hobbit calendar, every year begins on a Saturday and ends on a Friday and each month has 30 days. New Year's Eve and New Years Day, and three Lithedays in mid-summer didn't belong to any month. Every fourth year there was an extra Litheday, similar to a leap year.
10. Hobbits may actually be real. Small human skeletons were discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2004. The excavated skeletons reveal a hominid that (like a hobbit) grew no larger than a three-year-old modern child and had proportionately larger feet than modern humans. Nine of them have been found so far and have been given the scientific name of Homo floresiensis. Dwarf elephants, giant rats, and Komodo dragons would also have lived on the island.