Is there a Santa Claus?

New York Sun ^ | September 12, 1897 | Francis Pharcellus Church

[ZULU]

Eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York's Sun, and the quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897. The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus Church has since become history's most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole in dozens of languages in books, movies, and other editorials, and on posters and stamps.

"DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. "Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. "Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.' "Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?

"VIRGINIA O'HANLON. "115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET."

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measure by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest man that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank GOD! He lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

[NavyCanDo]

My 5-year old son just received a letter from Santa on beautiful Christmas stationary. His eyes were as big as saucers when he saw me pull it from the mail box. And Santa somehow knew just what my Son wanted for Christmas and that he's been hitting a little girl at school. Hope it works

The letter follows. ( removed my sons name)

DEAR XXXXXXXXXX

I RECEIVED YOUR LETTER TODAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR WRITING ME, IT ALWAYS BRINGS SANTA GREAT HAPPINESS TO HEAR FROM BOYS AND GIRLS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

I BET YOU ARE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT CHRISTMAS COMING SOON AND I BET YOU AND YOUR DAD ARE BUSY DECORATING THE HOUSE AGAIN THIS YEAR, AND YOUR MOM IS BAKING HER WONDERFUL COOKIES. I CAN SMELL THOSE COOKIES BAKING ALL THE WAY UP HERE IN THE NORTH POLE. DO TELL HER TO LEAVE A FEW OUT FOR ME ON CHRISTMAS EVE. AND DON’T FORGET AN APPLE OR CARROT FOR RUDOLF.

I GOT YOUR MESSAGE ABOUT THE GO DIEGO GO RESCUE CENTER. I WILL ASK MY ELVES TO GET BUSY BUILDING ONE JUST FOR YOU — BUT YOU HAVE TO PROMISE SANTA SOMETHING. — THROUGH MY MAGIC SNOWBALL I’VE SEEN YOU HIT AND HURT OTHER CHILDREN AT SCHOOL. THIS DOES NOT PLEASE SANTA. I KNOW YOU ARE A MUCH BETTER LITLE BOY THAN THAT, AND THAT YOU REALLY DON’T WANT TO BE A BULLY. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE TRY TO BE GOOD IN SCHOOL, LISTEN TO THE TEACHER, AND DO NOT HIT OTHER KIDS. AND BE KIND TO ANIMALS. IF YOU CAN PROMISE ME THIS, I WILL PROMISE THAT YOU WILL BE ON MY NICE LIST AND THAT YOU WILL BE VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS MORNING.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Santa Clause

[GrandEagle]

I get hammered quite a bit for it.
We still do the tooth fairy stuff, but they all know it is Mommy and Daddy. Make believe, I believe, is healthy for children - and they all have fun with it. My 2 year old rides a stick horse around the house - he knows it's not a real horse, but he has tons of fun making believe. We do the same thing with Santa, tooth fairy, etc.

I want (and so far it has been so), Daddy to be a place where you can go and get straight answers about anything you want to know about.
Granted, my oldest is only 11, so I know I've got a lot to learn yet. So far, anything they have something they have heard and want to know the truth, they will tell me "Dad, can we talk".

Cordially,
GE

[thesharkboy]

THIS DOES NOT PLEASE SANTA.

Hilarious. Santa needs to turn the CAPS LOCK key off.

[SF Republican]

learned that we don't always tell the truth with our kids we often mention there is difference in reality and fantasy, often using movies (Shrek - Pirates of the Carribian) as an example. My problem is how do people teach a kid not to hit, by hitting (spanking) them?

[Stone Mountain]

Then we tell teenagers that smoking tobacco and pot is bad for them. And they see adults smoking with impunity, and we wonder why they don't take our "word" for it, how harmful smoking really is. Instead, they try it for themselves and get hooked, because they have learned that we don't always tell the truth.

I see a lot of this. Hard drugs too. They tell kids if you try crack once, you'll get addicted and turn into a junkie. But they see people like Marion Barry who was able to be a mayor of a city while on the pipe. Not to mention a ton of people around their neighborhood who smoke crack and still appear functional. So if they find out that you don't really get hooked after trying it just once, and that all people who use it don't turn into street junkies, that basically everything they have heard about crack is bs and that they won't believe any of it. The truth about crack is bad enough - it's stupid to lie about it.

[GrandEagle]

RE: #25
Your comments are so very true.

[firebrand]

This is what I did too. I'm sure many will disagree with you, but I think you are doing the right thing.

I couldn't believe it when I found out my parents lied to me, after they told me they would never lie to me. (They left a lot of things out, of course.)

When confronted, my mother just sort of laughed and said something like, "Well, only about Santa."

It shook my faith in them. Seriously. It was traumatic. To this day, I hate Santa. Why should he be everywhere?

[firebrand]

Santa Claustrophobia

[GrandEagle]

LOL! My parents did Santa too. It didn't adversely affect me either, nor did I lose respect for them.

[firebrand]

I was a deep child.

: )

[Oratam]

"You can't a fool a me there ain't no Sanity Clause."

[GrandEagle]

I was a deep child.
My apology, I thought you were being Sarcastic... :)

[Irish Rose]

My parents took a similar approach. They never taught my siblings and me to believe in Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy. We watched Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Miracle on Thirty-Fourth Street, but I never believed either was anything more than a good story.

[NavyCanDo]

When 5-years olds can read lower case then I'll turn off caps-lock on Santa letters.

[woofie]

I hear Bush killed Santa...tortured him to death

[ZULU]

That's sick. Are you a troll, or do you just sound like one?

[ZULU]

Your response was really immature.

[ZULU]

"Make believe, I believe, is healthy for children -"

So do I. It creates IMAGINATION. Without IMAGGINATION we would still be living in caves eating raw meat and getting insulted by Geico.

[dpa5923]

Great letter. Made me smile.

[ZULU]

I believe there is more to reality than things we can see, touch and feel and that includes the Spirit of Santa Claus.