Christmas in Narnia

Hello everyone! Thanksgiving is over, and Christmas is coming up fast! I decided to change the header of my blog to something Chrismassy (which I made), and I changed the color scheme as well. If you're interested, here's a post of all of my former blog headers.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a very Christmassy book. Maybe it's because the first three times you see Narnia it is covered in beautiful wintery snow. Or maybe because C.S. Lewis actually added a character called "Father Christmas." Why do you think he did that? I think it's fascinating. He incorporated lots of mythical creatures from ancient folklore into Narnia, such as fawns and dryads and seapeople. But he also added a few characters that we recognize, like Bacchus (in Prince Caspian), and Father Christmas in LWW, who has continued to permeate our culture to this day. Nowadays, Santa Claus displays are everywhere at Christmastime; he is on TV; he meets kids at malls; and most every kid, at one point or another, if not believes in him, wishes he was real. The Pevensies get to actually meet Father Christmas in person (even if it is in another world) and receive gifts from him! In this scene in the movie, Lucy, the youngest sibling and the one with the most faith, turns to her older sister and says, "Told you he was real." I appreciate that Father Christmas in the movie points to Aslan as the true king, saying, "Long live Aslan!" before driving off in his sleigh.

When asked by a young fan what Aslan's "other name" was, C.S. Lewis included Christmas in his explanation:

"As to Aslan's other name, well I want you to guess. Has there never been anyone in this world who (1.) Arrived at the same time as Father Christmas. (2.) Said that he was the Son of the Great Emperor. (3.) Gave himself up for someone else's fault to be jeered at and killed by wicked people. (4.) Came to life again. (5.) Is sometimes spoken of as a Lamb (see the end of the Dawn Treader). Don't you really know His name in this world?"

That's right, Christmas is also when Jesus arrived on our Earth! And he is way more exciting than Father Christmas! Imagine you wanted and wanted to believe that God was real; then, at Christmas, he gives us the most precious gift he could ever give: his own Son. Jesus, who is God, came to our world as a human! He actually set foot on this Earth! He was God, born as a baby in Bethlehem. I can picture one little shepherd at the stable whispering to a buddy, "Told you He was real."

In The Last Battle, Lucy (Narnia's example of faith) says,

"Yes," said Queen Lucy. "In our world, too, a Stable once held something inside it that was bigger than our whole world."

Once again, an acknowledgment of Christmas and Christianity and Christ in the Chronicles. Yay, C.S. Lewis!!

Maybe you should re-read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe this December! Another great story is Luke 1 and 2, the story of the first Christmas. (And the whole Bible, of course! :)) You can conveniently read Luke online here.

And just for fun... Narnia Christmas Gift Ideas:

Narnia Fans Apparel

Fox Shop Official Merchandise

Narnia gifts from Zazzle

Narnia gifts from Cafepress

Narnia replicas and toys on Amazon

Wardrobe Necklace

Narnia Radio Theatre

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader movie