Tolkien Reading Day is held on the 25th of March each year.
It has been organised by the Tolkien Society since 2003 to encourage fans to celebrate and promote the life and works of J.R.R. Tolkien by reading favourite passages. We particularly encourage schools, museums and libraries to host their own Tolkien Reading Day events.
Why 25 March?
The 25th of March is the date of the downfall of the Lord of the Rings (Sauron) and the fall of Barad-dûr. It’s as simple as that!
It is also a significant date in the real world—it is the the Feast of the Annunciation and was New Year’s Day in England throughout the medieval and early modern period.
As the 25th is obviously a fixed date, we suggest that local events could be held on the weekend prior or after to then if that’s more convenient.
History
Tolkien Reading Day began following an enquiry from Sean Kirst, a columnist of the The Post-Standard (a paper local to Syracuse, New York), in January 2002:
My grandparents were fishing folk from Buckie in the north of Scotland, carriers of the old stories and legends, and the trilogy has filled a certain hole in my life. I have many friends here in New York who were equally moved by the book, reignited by the film, and we all wondered: is there any day devoted informally to readings from the trilogy, in the way that “Bloomsday” is devoted to Joyce?
The committee liked the idea so much that they choose 25 March 2003 to be the first “Tolkien Reading Day”, and the rest, as they say, is history!
Themes
Each year the Society announces a theme to help readers reflect on different aspects of Tolkien’s writings.
| Year | Theme |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Fellowship and Community |
| 2024 | Service and Sacrifice |
| 2023 | Travel and Adventure |
| 2022 | Love and Friendship |
| 2021 | Hope and Courage |
| 2020 | Nature and Industry |
| 2019 | Tolkien and the mysterious |
| 2018 | Home and Hearth: the many ways of being a Hobbit |
| 2017 | Poetry and Song |
| 2016 | Life, Death, and Immortality |
| 2015 | Friendship |
| 2014 | Hope |