Editing Hobbit (section)

=== Lifestyle and culture ===

[[File:Hobbit holes reflected in water.jpg|thumb|left|Hobbit holes or smials as depicted in Peter Jackson's [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'']] film trilogy]]

In his writings, Tolkien depicted hobbits as fond of an unadventurous, bucolic and [[simple living|simple life]] of farming, eating, and socializing, although capable of defending their homes courageously if the need arises. They would enjoy six meals a day, if they could get them.<ref name="Prologue on Hobbits" group=T/> They claimed to have invented the art of smoking [[pipe-weed]].<ref name="Prologue on Pipe-weed" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a|loc="Prologue", 2. "Concerning Pipe-weed"}}</ref> 
They were extremely "clannish" and had strong "predilections for [[genealogy]]"; accordingly, Tolkien included several [[Tolkien's Middle-earth family trees|Hobbit family trees]] in ''The Lord of the Rings''.<ref name="Drout2007">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Fisher |first=Jason |author-link=Jason Fisher |editor-last=Drout |editor-first=Michael D. C. |editor-link=Michael D. C. Drout |chapter=Family Trees |title=[[J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia]] |year=2007 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |isbn=978-0-415-96942-0 |pages=188–189}}</ref> Most hobbits married and had large families, although Bilbo and Frodo were exceptions to this general rule.

The hobbits of [[Shire (Middle-earth)|the Shire]] developed the custom of giving away gifts on their birthdays, instead of receiving them, although this custom was not universally followed among other hobbit cultures or communities.{{efn|Gollum refers to the One Ring as his "birthday present" in ''The Hobbit''.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1937|loc=ch. 5 "Riddles in the Dark"}}</ref>}} The term ''[[wiktionary:mathom|mathom]]'' is used for old and useless objects, but which hobbits are unwilling to throw away. ''Mathoms'' are invariably given as presents many times over, sometimes returning to the original owner, or are stored in a museum (''mathom-house'').<ref name="Prologue on Hobbits" group=T/>

The hobbits had a [[Shire Calendar|distinct calendar]]: every year started on a Saturday and ended on a Friday, with each of the twelve months consisting of thirty days. [[Intercalary day|Some special days]] did not belong to any month—[[Yule]] 1 and 2 (New Year's Eve & New Years Day) and three Lithedays in mid-summer. Every fourth year there was an extra Litheday, most likely as an adaptation, similar to a [[leap year]], to ensure that the calendar remained in time with the seasons.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955|loc=Appendix D}}</ref>

[[File:Tolkien_tree_waistcoat.jpg|thumb|upright|Tolkien stated that he liked gardens, [[Trees and forests in Middle-earth|trees]], and wearing waistcoats, just as hobbits did; he was often photographed with trees.<ref name="I am a hobbit" group=T/>]]

Hobbits traditionally live in "hobbit-holes", or ''smials'', [[earth house|underground homes]] found in hillsides, downs, and banks, though others lived in houses.<ref name="Prologue on Hobbits" group=T/> It has been suggested that the soil or ground of the Shire consists of [[loess]] and that this facilitates the construction of hobbit-holes.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Smalley |first1=I.J. |last2=Bijl |first2=S. |year=2003 |title=Hobbit holes as loess dwellings and the Shire as a loess region |journal=New Zealand Soil News |volume=51 |pages=158–159 |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/61253539/Hobbit-Holes-as-Loess-Dwellings-and-the-Shire-as-a-Loess-Region}}</ref> Loess is a yellow soil, which would explain the colour of the Brandywine River, and the nature of the bricks made at Stock, the main Shire brickyard.{{efn|A [[stock brick]] is a handmade yellow brick from Southeast England.<ref name="British Brick Society">{{cite journal |last=Hounsell |first=Peter |title=Up the Cut to Paddington: The West Middlesex brick industry and the Grand Junction Canal |journal=The British Brick Society |date=February 2004 |volume=93 |pages=11–16 |issn=0960-7870}}</ref>}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Smalley |first1=I. J. |last2=Bijl |first2=S. |year=1995 |title=Bricks and brickmaking in the Shire |journal=Amon Hen |volume=128 |pages=18–19}}</ref> [[Architecture in Middle-earth|Hobbit architecture]] favours round doors and windows.<ref name="Prologue on Hobbits" group=T/>

Tolkien likened his own tastes to those of hobbits in a 1958 letter:<ref name="I am a hobbit" group=T>{{harvnb|Carpenter|2023|loc=Letter 213 to Deborah Webster, 25 October 1958 }}</ref>

{{blockquote|I am in fact a Hobbit in all but size. I like gardens, trees, and unmechanized farmlands; I smoke a pipe, and like good plain food (unrefrigerated), but detest French cooking; I like, and even dare to wear in these dull days, ornamental waistcoats. I am fond of mushrooms (out of a field); have a very simple sense of humour (which even my appreciative critics find tiresome); I go to bed late and get up late (when possible). I do not travel much.<ref name="I am a hobbit" group=T/>}}