Always winter, never Christmas

Narnia is under a curse. It is always winter, and never Christmas. In the past few days, Narnia has been on our mind. I’ve been asked if I have seen Mr. Tumnus or the lamp post. It’s snowing. Since last night we’ve had about 6 inches and counting. But, it is beautiful. Rachel was over today. As she left my house, I watched the contrast of her black skirt and jacket as she walked into the white surroundings. Narnia. Always winter, but never Christmas.

Lucy and Edmund both go into the wardrobe. Once in Narnia Lucy meets Mr. Tumnus. He has given himself over in service to the White Witch, but upon meeting Lucy, he is able to see through the deception. Edmund, however, meets the terrifying White Witch herself. She chooses against killing him, but decides to use him for his own purpose. With her cunning ways, she wins him over to her side. She offers him enchanted Turkish Delight, and after tasting it, he will do anything to have more of it. Yet she tells him to work in secret, and not to believe any lies that he may hear from Lucy about her.

Edmund dismisses the warnings about the White Witch not because he doesn’t think that she may be dangerous, but because he longs for more Turkish Delight. When the Children all come to Narnia together, Edmund leaves his siblings to go find the White Witch. She is displeased that he has come alone, and keeps him locked up.
Always winter but never Christmas, and he is trapped in the Witches lonely cell.
Always winter, but then something happens. Some of the snow starts melting. A river starts to flow. Farther Christmas comes, and so does Aslan.

I am waiting for spring. I am waiting for Christmas. I am waiting for the curse to be broken, for flowers to grow, I am waiting for Aslan to show up.

Rachel is also waiting for spring. She isn’t pleased by the snow which keeps falling, and she thinks of moving away to escape it all. I don’t know that that would make her content. She is waiting for spring, but before spring comes Christmas, and with Christmas, Aslan comes.

Narnia

The Narnians have been deceived by an Ape who shows them a false Aslan and barks out commands as if they were from Aslan himself. Only these new commands go against the character we know Aslan to be. King Tirian finds a donkey dressed up as Aslan, which the Ape uses to deceive the Narnians. He then comes across some dwarfs who have been sold in to slavery because of “Aslan’s orders”. He is excited to show them that it has all been a lie. He shows them the obvious flaws in what they had believed, but they do not respond as he had hoped.

“I don’t know how all you chaps feel, but I feel I’ve heard as much about Aslan as I want to for the rest of my life... You must think we’re blooming soft in the head, that you must... We’ve been taken in once and now you expect us to be taken in again the next minute. We’ve no more use for stories about Aslan, see! Look at him! An old moke with long ears”
“By heavens, you make me mad,” said Tirian “which of us said that was Aslan? That is the Ape’s imitation of the real Aslan. Can’t you understand?”
“And you have got a better imitation, I suppose! No thanks. We’ve been fooled once and we’re not going to be fooled again.”
“I have not,” said Tirian angrily, “I serve the real Aslan.”
“Where’s he? Who’s he? Show him to us!”
“Do you think I keep him in my wallet, fools?” Said Tirian “Who am I that I could make Aslan appear at my bidding? He’s not a tame lion.”
“Not a tame lion, not a tame lion... That’s what the other lot kept on telling us.”
Tirian had never dreamed that one of the results of an Ape’s setting up a false Aslan would be to stop people from believing in the real one. He had felt quite sure that the Dwarfs would rally to his side the moment he showed them how they had been deceived.