“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.”

Enter Mr. Baggins, stature just above toddler with absurdly overgrown bare feet, callused and shaggy. His eyes lock on a shimmer, a golden ring so spectacular that it hungrily makes him desire to coil it around his bare digit. Its return leaves no doubt – the feeling is, as if somehow personified itself, mutual. But there’s an undercurrent of intoxication, the corruptibility of its power all that it leaves visible.

Except nothing of the sort happens, he stays faithful to his fellowships quest, resilient to his new trinkets seduction. Instead, the gangly and sallow other diverges his attentions, flavoring the scene with cannibalistic threats and victimized claims of burgling his precious, yet carrying quirks that make him feel playful as much as hostile.

This isn’t the (perhaps more familiar) Lord of the Rings, nor is it a tale so much about a hobbit as it is 1937’s The Hobbit, particularly the chapter “Riddles in the Dark,” Tolkien debuting his Middle-Earth pallet in this far more whimsical fantasy classic. Despite perfuming the air with perspiring anxiety, Bilbo Baggins, uncle of the eventual ring-bearer, goes against typical Hobbit-instinct, though firstly more through the wizardry of Gandalf, to become a slightly unwilling adventurer thrust out of his sanctuary. Though the Shire is many miles behind, the Halfling instills his hometown quaintness by relishing in the little pleasures we oft take for granted.

Though he regularly gets out of binds through accidental fortune or sneakiness more than head-on gusto, make no mistake…Bilbo has an everyman heroes spirit. It’s now impossible to picture a world unfamiliar with the elegiac “One Ring to Rule Them All,” where no one mimics the slithering Gollum catchphrase or has their ears graced by Howard Shore’s epic Fellowship motif. As we travel there and back again for the 75^th anniversary of the publication of The Hobbit, we’re also stormed by festivities for World Hobbit Day, declared by the American Tolkien Society in 1978. It’s an honorary Bilbo and Frodo Birthday celebration every September 22^nd, the first day of Autumn. Magnify all that with the excitement of the release of Peter Jacksons first installment of his Hobbit trilogy this December and you’ve got a night to remember.

The Hobbit Second Breakfast (LINK) is sure aspiring for that. It’s a world-wide ring movement made to bind us all in the customs of Hobbiton, where breakfast is just an episode and tea or ale becomes requirement. “Inspired by the ideals cherished by hobbits everywhere: camaraderie, companionship and, of course, a love of good food, The Hobbit Second Breakfast is your chance to pop the kettle on, sit down with friends, family or colleagues, and take a moment to eat, drink and be merry.” For all the Ringers and Hobbit heads, make sure Frodo lives by joining in the party. While you prepare your lembas and pipeweeds, Peter Jackson tickles your anticipation all the more over at his Facebook (LINK) with teasing this weeks soon-to-be-released NEW Hobbit trailer. Here’s a helpful how-to guide (LINK) to shrink yourself down to Hobbit size for Hobbit Day extravaganzas along with the latest and greatest Hobbit Behind the Scenes blog.