Always Winter and Never Christmas (Part 1)

Always Winter and Never Christmas

Lucy’s first visit to Narnia almost ends in tragedy. Unbeknownst to her, the Faun Tumnus, whom she had befriended and whose house she was visiting, was covertly planning to lull her to sleep and hand her over to the queen of Narnia, the White Witch. The nefarious plan would have succeeded had Tumnus not been overcome by guilt. He repents, asks Lucy for forgiveness and explains that, though he was in the pay of the White Witch, he now understands the error of his ways. 

In the course of his confession, Tumnus attempts to convey to Lucy that his being in the pay of White Witch is indeed evil. He demonstrates her wickedness by explaining: 

Why, it is she that has got all Narnia under her thumb. It’s she that makes it always winter. Always winter and never Christmas; think of that!

As a child, this made a lot of sense to me. I knew, of course, that Christmas was a very important holiday because that was when non-Jewish children got presents (our parents told us that Santa Claus was not real, but we would never ruin the surprise for any non-Jewish children we might speak to). Due to the White Witch, the children in Narnia never got presents, and certainty it takes a singularly evil person to want to take away an opportunity to receive presents. 

Rereading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as an adult, I came to realize that Lewis probably had more in mind than presents and the like. But what is it? Why is winter without Christmas such a tragedy? Furthermore (as I am not Christian), is there a parallel to be drawn to the Jewish winter holiday, Hanukkah? 

Not surprisingly, there have been Christian pastors who have used this statement of Tumnus to demonstrate the importance of the Christmas holiday. Pastor Ray Fowler emphasized the importance of the holiday as follows:

Can you imagine what it would be like if it were always winter, never Christmas? First of all, just imagine if it were always winter. Now maybe some of you happen to love the winter, but how would you like to deal with ice and snow, sub-freezing temperatures, and having to clean and scrape your car every morning, every day? ...

So, this “always winter” thing would be bad enough. But what if it were always winter, never Christmas? That would be even worse! You know, we may not always like the ice and snow and cold, but at least when it gets cold around here, it’s a sign that Christmas is coming. And for many people, Christmas is that bright spot in the middle of winter that somehow makes it all worth it. But what if there were no Christmas? What if the Christmas season never came? Think about it – no holiday decorations, no family gatherings, no Bright Nights at Forest Park, no Christmas carols or concerts, no Christmas trees, no Christmas presents, no Christmas vacation (!), (kids, that means you would be in school all December long), no Charlie Brown Christmas specials, no Jimmy Stewart and “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It would be all winter, all the time, but never any Christmas.

The pastor notes that Winter is difficult. It is cold and icy. But at least there is Christmas to look forward to, and that makes the troubles worthwhile. 

Transitioning this thought back to Narnia, we would then understand Tumnus’ statement as follows. The White Witch has made the lives of Narnians really difficult. It is always cold and icy, but it is worse than the winters we are used to, because there is no redeeming factor. Life in Narnia is all work and no reward, no validation, and no purpose. 

This reading of Tumnus’ statement is a straightforward or grown-up extension of the naive understanding I had as a child. A child might say, were things as they should be, children who are “good” would be rewarded with presents on Christmas. The White Witch is mean because, due to her, no Narnian children receive presents. The adult version of this is that winter is “hard,” and Christmas is a reward for the toil and a purpose of the hard work. The hours of hard work, celebrated with great joy surrounded by friends and family, become worthwhile. In Narnia such reward and purpose do not exist. 

Such a situation was in fact what the Israelites of old experienced in Egypt. Our sages tell us that the Jews were forced to work meaningless, non-constructive jobs with no ultimate purpose. They were thus lacking even the ability to even take pride in their work, to congratulate themselves on a job well-done. A similar cruelty was applied by the White Witch. There was work to be done but no ultimate satisfaction. 

(Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash)