Thank you for sharing this. I will say that I do really appreciate Lewis including Father Christmas for a few reasons:
1. We very much need a light moment of joy at that point in the novel, especially before the hardest scenes to come.
2. As you said, he parallels John the Baptist and prepares the children for Aslan - it just feels right.
3. He helps establish Narnia as a place where, as Lewis stated, magical/mythical creatures appear. I see what you're saying about Father Christmas maybe not quite fitting the mold, but I think he' brings a strong stroke of delight either way.
Thank you for sharing this. I will say that I do really appreciate Lewis including Father Christmas for a few reasons:
1. We very much need a light moment of joy at that point in the novel, especially before the hardest scenes to come.
2. As you said, he parallels John the Baptist and prepares the children for Aslan - it just feels right.
3. He helps establish Narnia as a place where, as Lewis stated, magical/mythical creatures appear. I see what you're saying about Father Christmas maybe not quite fitting the mold, but I think he' brings a strong stroke of delight either way.
Wonderful article illuminating certain aspects for me. Thank you for Merry Christmas.