That's a very interesting idea about Bacchus and Father Christmas! On the other hand, I do wonder if it somewhat undermines your point about Aslan coming to Narnia at Christmas, if the Narnian Christmas doesn't have that interworld link back to Christmas in our world.
I also find the timing of Christmas interesting, since Christmas in our world was most likely given its current date largely to co-opt older pagan solstice festivals, and to take advantage of 'light returning from darkness' symbolism... and was not a particularly spiritually notable holiday until the past couple centuries, but was rather an excuse to get drunk. Easter was the big religious holiday. And the 'Christmas' in LWW isn't even a proper Christmas -- it's just Father Christmas taking advantage of the breaking of Jadis's spell -- and in any case, it happens in what apparently ought to have been spring or summer were it not for the magical winter. So, especially with the events of the Stone Table happening so soon thereafter, there is a fascinating conflation of secular Christmas and spiritual Easter symbolism in LWW, and that makes me more inclined to see that symbolism as something organic to Narnia (and therefore not necessarily traditionally Christian) and less inclined to read it strictly allegorically, because allegorically it is a mess.
As for your other points, I am composing a reply, but I want to be very sure I am actually saying what I mean to say (and hopefully arranging my thoughts in a coherent order as well), so I may not post it until this evening.
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Re: reply to long comment, part 2
Date: 2009-05-06 08:08 pm (UTC)I also find the timing of Christmas interesting, since Christmas in our world was most likely given its current date largely to co-opt older pagan solstice festivals, and to take advantage of 'light returning from darkness' symbolism... and was not a particularly spiritually notable holiday until the past couple centuries, but was rather an excuse to get drunk. Easter was the big religious holiday. And the 'Christmas' in LWW isn't even a proper Christmas -- it's just Father Christmas taking advantage of the breaking of Jadis's spell -- and in any case, it happens in what apparently ought to have been spring or summer were it not for the magical winter. So, especially with the events of the Stone Table happening so soon thereafter, there is a fascinating conflation of secular Christmas and spiritual Easter symbolism in LWW, and that makes me more inclined to see that symbolism as something organic to Narnia (and therefore not necessarily traditionally Christian) and less inclined to read it strictly allegorically, because allegorically it is a mess.
As for your other points, I am composing a reply, but I want to be very sure I am actually saying what I mean to say (and hopefully arranging my thoughts in a coherent order as well), so I may not post it until this evening.