Extended Edition Council: February '26

Love is in the air

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Extended Edition Council: February ‘26

Mae govannen, all!

The world is full of love. I see it in the water. I feel it in the Earth. I smell it in the air. For this past weekend…was Valentine’s Day.

Naturally this makes my thoughts turn to the many love stories found throughout Tolkien’s Legendarium and how they compare with one another.

But this is far from the only holiday this week. Today is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the season of Lent in the Church Calendar. Ramadan also began yesterday, and—as if that wasn’t enough—Chinese New Year fell on the same day!

So whether you have observed some or all of these holidays this week, today I’d love to hear answers to some (or all!) of the following questions from you:

• What’s your favorite love story from Middle-earth?

• Do you observe Lent? Are you giving anything up this year?

• Do you have any personal experience with Ramadan?

• This Chinese New Year marks the beginning of the year of the horse. And it’s not just any year of the horse: it’s the year of the fire horse! You will not be surprised at all to hear that my association of “Fire” + “Horse” is “The beacons are lit! Gondor calls for aid” 🔥 and “And Rohan will answer!” 🐎. What’s your association with Chinese New Year and the Year of the Horse, if you have one?

Of course, you can also share an introduction if you’re new to the Extended Edition or other thoughts inspired by this post.

Thank you, friends!

Namárië,

Josh

PS—Comments in Extended Edition Councils are for paid members; you can upgrade/manage your membership here any time. Thank you so much for reading Jokien with Tolkien!