NarniaFans Mailbag: Special Christmas 2012 Edition!

Welcome to our Special Edition of the NarniaFans Mailbag. As many of you are aware, we concluded our Letters To Father Christmas Contest. In the Spirit of the Holiday and in just good fun, we have some of the questions, with answers from Father Christmas. He has been very generous with his time, as we all know he is very busy this time of year. So without further ado let’s have at those questions!

 It is a good thing that Narnia’s time and the time of our world do not coincide all the time; otherwise, getting all of those packages delivered to two different worlds would really be a challenge! Being a curious sort a person (as you well know!), I have a couple of questions for you. Is it difficult going back and forth between Narnia and this world? Do you have a headquarters in the north of Narnia’s world or just at our North Pole? (Seeing how Narnia is a flat world, at least according to Caspian, I’m not sure that Narnia has a North Pole!) Finally, are your reindeer Talking Beasts?

-Tarwe-The Narnian Elf

 

Indeed it does! It was surprisingly not that difficult to travel between your world and Narnia back in the day, however those trips for me have long since come to an end, as sadly that world no longer exists. I do hope your world goes on a bit longer so I can continue to spread joy and merriment in His name to all. Now, as you are more than aware there were, many “chinks and chasms” between our world and Narnia, and one such rift exists at the North Pole. Perhaps you have heard in science class about the Magnetic North Pole? Well, that “magnet” is actually a bridge not just between our world and Narnia but all worlds.

I did in fact have a headquarters in Narnia in the very far North of that land. While in your world my workers are Elves, and Dwarves as they are, or at least were, native to your world. In Narnia I have dwarves, Fauns, and Nymphs to help me in my work. They usually have my sleigh ready to go the moment I get there. However for one such as me, the difference in time between both worlds was no matter.

Now there were some parts of Narnia that did not celebrate Christmas. In fact it was only celebrated from Narnia to Archenland. The Colormans celebrated The Festival of the Tisroc about that time, and I was most certainly not welcome. As festivals go it was all right, to be sure, certainly not as ghastly as the Feast of Tash they had every spring.

There were laso years in which I did not visit Narnia at all. The Witch’s 100 Year Winter that kept me out of Narnia cut down on my travels to that world, and King Miraz actually outlawed the celebration of Christmas during his reign.  However, that did not mean I didn’t at least try and deliver presents to the Narnians during Miraz’s time. I had my ways. Let’s just say, it was not the first time I was an outlaw!

Yes, my reindeer are in fact talking beast. Don’t worry they are well treated and cared for and work for me willingly. It is something that the Christmas Specials tend to get right.

 

 

When you gave the Pevensie children their gifts, how did you get the vial of cordial for Queen Lucy from the Fire Flowers in the Valley of the Sun?

-Eve ( Daughter of)

It’s surprisingly easy when you have magic at your disposal. The Valley of the Sun is located somewhere in Ramandu’s island . I would pay him and Lilliandil a visit, enjoy some tea and good company and they would give me that juice. However in the case of giving it to Lucy that was much trickier due to the Witch’s magic keeping me not only out of the land of Narnia but that world itself .Thankfully they gave me a good supply of the juice on one of my earlier visits to them.

Once the tree planted by Lord Digory was felled, and the good Queen Swanwhite was mysteriously murdered, we knew it would only be a matter of time before the witch would try and seize Narnia. ( I still maintain that Jadis had something to do with the good queen’s death as did many in Narnia). As such they gave me enough Fire Flower Juice to last me at least a millennia, let alone a centuries long winter.

 

 

 

 

What would you have given Edmund if he was there with his brother and sisters when they met you?

-Bobby Orme

 

It has been many, many years since I visited Narnia to deliver gifts to the Pevensies. The decision of which gifts were given to them was never up to me. You see, the gifts I gave were bidden unto me by Aslan Himself. I did ask him once what he would have given to Edmund. He just smiled ( if in fact the Lion can smile), shook his head and growled lightly. It wasn’t really a growl, more like a very low “purr”, if it is not demeaning to One so magnificent to call it that.

Then he put his arm around me and told me, “I never tell anyone’s story but their own.”

The matter of Edmund’s gift is knowledge known only to Him. However, had it been up to me I think I would have given him a battle axe. It would have probably made shattering the witch’s wand easier.

 

 

 

How do you get to every child on Christmas Eve? I mean, after all, there are millions of kids in the world.

-Kaity Orme

The simple answer is I don’t deliver all the presents in one night .That was just a fanciful rumor made up by grown-ups. In fact throughout parts of Europe I arrive on December 16th on Saint Nicolas Day. In some countries a few of my friends, like the Tomte in Sweden, the Nisse in Norway, the Haltija or Tonntu in Finland,  The Yule Lads in Iceland, and the Magi in some parts of the world. Even some of my family members help me out, for example, my granddaughter helps me in Eastern Europe, where she is known as “The Snow Maiden.”

Many of them help me willingly, as my mission is one of peace and joy, in which I spread the message of Christmas to all. The only exception is the Yule Lads. They are 13 unruly dwarves, and their services have been rendered unto me as a form of what you may call community service or penance for their past crimes. They spend almost 1900 years being bad and have a lot of time to make up for it. So far they have 112 years down, only 1788 years to go!

Regrettably in our world, as it was in Narnia, there are some places where it is always winter but never Christmas as the celebration is outlawed. I have often tried to visit those lands and have been quickly turned away. I do hope that someday, like in Narnia, that ban will be lifted so I may enter in and spared the message of Christmas to those who need it.

There have also been times I nearly missed due to storms or other circumstances. For example during World War II, I almost missed England because of the Air Raids, and nearly didn’t reach France or Germany. Wars are indeed bloody affairs, and I have seen far too many of them.

Now typically I travel in an East to west fashion, starting in places like New Zealand and Australia, with Hawaii being one of my last stops. Thanks to what could best be descried as “magic”, for lack of a better term, my trip is shortened to a few mere seconds. I would explain it all, but I am afraid it would be too difficult to understand.

 

 

 

I have a simple question for you. Why do you have such a big heart for everyone to give them the Christmas they would not have had? And how can I become more like you?

-Vincent Surmont

The reason my heart is so big, is the same reason the sky is blue and the snow is white. It just is. Once, many centuries ago, I was traveling the world. I saw children living in many different conditions, some rich, some poor. However, every child, and perhaps every person has one thing in common, they all love to receive a gift.

A gift. A simple token of affection, a simple way of showing that you care for them. I would see the look of surprise and joy that would come across a child’s face when they’d receive a gift from someone, especially if they didn’t expect it. There is so much pain and unhappiness in the world that if for just one day everyone could be happy, ( in theory of course, I know that’s impossible), the world itself could be a merrier place.

Indeed, in this whole world, there is nothing more beautiful than to see someone happy, especially children. I have always believed that among the reasons we are all here is to make not just the world, but each other’s lives better than the way we found them.

Now as for your second question, how can you be more like me? It’s simple, start to be like Him who was born upon this day. That means give of yourself, give joyously, and give without thought of a reward. Second, while you may not be able to gifts to everyone in the world as much as you like, there are plenty of ways to give. From Holiday book drives at your local book store, to toy drives, food drives, helping with groups like Samaritan’s Purse, Union Gospel Mission, Meals on Wheels, The Salvation Army, and Feed My Starving Children, to even dropping those four dollars you would have spent on a bottle of soda pop and a candy bar into the shiny red kettles you see this time of year.

 

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, now, I really must be off. My time grows short and Christmas is only a few days away.

Thank you, Father Christmas, for taking the time to answer our questions.