A few years ago the Tolkien Society initiated the Tolkien Toast tradition, whereby they encourage fans around the world to toast the Professor on his birthday (January 3).

Now, it seems to me that if you're going to observe the Professor's birthday you should do a little bit more than just raise a glass and toast his name.

So I have decided to encourage Tolkien fans to get together and share their favorite Tolkien quotes before toasting him. I imagine it would go something like this:

Fan 1: Reads a quote (not too long) and then raises glass. "The Professor".

All other fans echo the toast and they drink.

Fan 2: Reads a quote (not too long) and then raises glass. "The Professor".

All other fans echo the toast and they drink.

Now, if you're drinking alcohol and there are a lot of fans in the room, you might want to rent a van and make sure everyone gets home safely (or have a Hobbit Sleepover). Celebrate in safety.

Don't toast and drive.

The Tolkien Toast could also include tasting Hobbit food recipes (or Elvish food recipes).

I think that if you're going to observe Tolkien's birthday you should do it with friends over dinner (sort of like Frodo and his friends celebrating Frodo and Bilbo's birthday one last time before leaving the Shire).