solicitr wrote:Tolkien did say in a late interview (altho he had denied it elsewhere) that the beginning and end dates of the Quest, December 25 and March 25, were quite deliberate...
He said it in
Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings as well, assuming the following excerpt, posted online, is accurate:
Tolkien wrote:Lithe [and Yule]: ... *Midwinter only occurs once during the main narrative. The midwinter festival was not an Elvish custom, and so would not have been celebrated in Rivendell. The Fellowship, however, left on Dec. 25, which [date] had then no significance, since the Yule, or its equivalent, was then the last day of the year and the first of the next year. Though Dec. 25 (setting out) and March 25 (accomplishment of quest) were intentionally chosen by me.
