Christmas Special: Hogfather by Terry Pratchett

This week, right before Christmas, I want to take some time to talk about one of my favorite Christmas stories. As I have said before on I Smell Sheep, I freaking love the Discworld series by Sir Terry Pratchett and like all series that have lasted for twenty-odd years, Discworld has its own Christmas special, titled Hogfather. This book is largely responsible for re-igniting my love of Christmas and giving new meaning to the holiday for me. Now I will talk a little bit about the plot because while the plot is fantastic, it's not what makes me love this book. The Disc has a holiday called Hogswatch which, due to the nature of the universe, bears a resemblance to our Christmas. However the Hogfather, the Disc's equivalent to Father Christmas (or Santa Claus to us Yanks) has gone missing. Now it's up to Death, yes that Death, to fill in for the Hogfather otherwise the sun will not rise. While Death's out making the deliveries, it's up to his granddaughter Susan to find out what happened to the Hogfather. And what are the Eater of Socks and Oh God of Hangovers doing at Unseen University? It's a fantastic adventure and fine example of Sir PTerry's work.

I feel like I love this book more for the message it contains rather than the fantastic plot. You know, let me go ahead and find the quote, PTerry says it best in a conversation between Death and Susan. (Death speaks in all-caps by the way.)

    HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE.
    "Tooth Fairies? Hogfathers? Little - "
   YES. AS PRACTIC. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES.
    "So we can believe the big ones?"
   YES. JUSTICE. MERCY. DUTY. THAT SORT OF THING.
    "They're not the same at all!"
   YOU THINK SO? THEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE AND THEN SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF MERCY. AND YET - Death waved a hand. AND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS SOME....SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED.
   "Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what's the point - "
   MY POINT EXACTLY.

I feel like this is one of the best messages Sir PTerry has ever put in one of his book. The myths of Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny aren't just elaborate lies created by adults to distract children. They serve the distinct purpose of getting children used to believing in something so when they get older they can believe in things greater than themselves. True, to an extent it's fanciful thinking, but I think it's a great message that anyone can get behind for the Christmas season.

Now, there is, of course, the novel, but if you want to experience Hogfather with family or friends, there is a film version of the book produced by the BBC. I should warn you ahead of time that the film version is about three hours long and has a pause halfway through so you might want to take a break at that point. That being said, I am glad the BBC took as much time as they did for Hogfather because they give the book its full justice and did a really good job translating it to film. If you're an old Discworld fan or are looking for a new holiday tradition, Hogfather is an excellent decision.

As a final thought, I want to quote the dedication to Hogfather, "To Everyone Who Hoped It Might Be True." Merry Christmas.

- Kalpar