Quotation of the Week (51/2010)

Advent Calendar / 20 December

‘The White Witch? Who is she?’
’Why, it is she that makes it always winter. Always winter and never Christmas; think of that!"’
’How awful!’ said Lucy.

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‘Come on!’ cried Mr Beaver, who was almost dancing with delight. ‘Come and see! This is a nasty knock for the Witch! It looks as if her power as already crumbling.’

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And on the sledge sat a person whom everyone knew the moment they set eyes on him. --- Everyone knew him because, though you see people of his sort only in Narnia, you see pictures of them and hear them talked about even in our world – the world on this side of the wardrobe door. But when you really see them in Narnia it is rather different. Some of the pictures of Father Christmas in our world make his look only funny and jolly. But now that the children actually stood looking at him they didn’t find it quite like that. He was so big, and so glad, and so real, that they all became quite still. They felt very glad, but also solemn.

‘I’ve come at last,’ said he. ‘She has kept me out for a long time, but I have got in at last. Aslan is on the move. The Witch’s magic is weakening.’

C.S. Lewis: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
(Illustration by Pauline Baynes)

…

I’m not sure how it works for readers who live in a warm climate, but I think Lewis catches perfectly how closely connected Christmas has come to be with Winter for us who live in the North. Christmas is celebrated at Midwinter; it is the turning point, when we can begin to say things like “at least from now on the days will be getting longer again…”