C.S. Lewis’s classic The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is set during World War II. Four children pass through a wardrobe into the world of Narnia, a land frozen in winter for 100 years by the White Witch. There they encounter the majestic lion Aslan and are involved in the overthrow of the witch and the return of spring.
The story falls into two halves: the first is set in the icebound Narnia under the total control of the White Witch; the second, in which Aslan and the witch confront each other, is set in a thawed spring-like Narnia. These two halves correspond to Christmas and Easter.
Lewis wrote the book in the late 1940s when Britain didn’t simply have severe winters but also suffered a continuation of wartime rationing that included fuel. Winters were bitter and miserable; the coming of spring was something that people eagerly anticipated.
Early in their visit to Narnia the children hear the thrilling rumour that ‘Aslan is on the move’ and, with it, the hope that his coming will bring spring. Escaping from the White Witch they encounter Father Christmas, a solemn and significant figure who, with Aslan ‘on the move’ and the weakening of the witch’s magic, can enter Narnia once more. After giving gifts he departs with a cry of ‘Merry Christmas!’ No sooner has he left than the thaw begins.
Lewis’s picture of a land frozen in the misery of a seemingly endless winter is a brilliant restatement of the Bible’s view of the state of humanity. Created good, we have fallen under the influence of evil. We are spiritually frozen. Yet in that bitter winter God has intervened. Christmas is the powerful declaration that God is ‘on the move’. The great thaw, the overthrow of evil, has begun.
The Christmas season brings with it the promise that, although still far away, spring is coming. Christmas is God’s promise that, if we trust in the One who was born at this time, spring for our souls is on the way. And this spring will last forever.
