Lithedays
From Tolkien Gateway
The Lithedays or just The Lithe refers to two feast days between the months of Forelithe and Afterlithe of the Shire Calendar. They lay either side of Mid-year's Day (and, in a leap year, the special feast-day of the Overlithe). They were called Summerdays in Bree.[1]
Events that occurred on 1 Lithe:
- T.A. 2941:
- Elrond discovers the moon-letters on Thrór's Map.
- T.A. 3019:
- Arwen comes to Minas Tirith.
Each 1 Lithe (midsummer-eve) the Old Took held parties, where Gandalf impressed the hobbits with fireworks.[2]
Etymology
Old English líða, is the old name for the months June and July.[3] It probably referred to the first new moon around the summer solstice.[4]
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix D, "The Shire Calendar"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "Out of the Frying-Pan into the Fire"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings" in Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, p. 780-1
- ↑ Jim Allan (1978), An Introduction to Elvish, Giving of Names, p. 227
