Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus
by Publius“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 measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.
No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as 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 with 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 may 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 men 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.
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19 Comments
CHINO!!!!
It is time to vote the way your Representatives have done in your state. Vote them "Up or Down", it is better than what they have done for us!
http://www.voteiq.com/politicians/index/show/myel...
Thank God Virginia wrote to the Sun all those years ago. The Times would've have told her that there was no Santa Claus and that genoristy comes from the government and not people.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
No, Virginia. When you get to be a little older, your teachers at school will tell you that there are some things in life that you must accept as a matter of faith. America is a great faith-based country, among the other 200 best countries in the world.
As part of growing up, you'll eventually learn that some things are just true, even though they can't be directly proven. For instance:
1. Rich people are evil and are responsible for everything. These scabs must be forced to share their wealth with those less fortunate so that everybody can be happy. "Look for the union label" is more than just a slogan. It's a way of life.
2. Government is smarter than the people are, so we must trust them to provide everything from guaranteed employment to food to a living wage, along with Rules to Live By, so we can all be happy..
3. The world's climate is edging toward Armageddon, due largely to rich people using more than their fair share of the world's resources. It is up to Government to rid the planet of poisonous carbon dioxide and save us all from certain death.
4. Racism and hate underlies everything that conservatives do. They are intellectually inferior to progressives, and they must be stopped for the good of the planet. They will stop at nothing to prevent us from living together in harmony and prosperity.
There are many more things your teachers will tell you. You'll see.
Just an observation. They published her name and address. A little reckless even for those days today we black out the faces in yearbooks a little paranoid even for these days
Beautiful. Simple truth (a scarce commodity these days). Merry Christmas!
Related: Here's how a Cuban woman in America described what life was like in Cuba under Castro as a little girl.
"I remember when I was five years old in school the teacher would do the same thing every day….
She would tell us all to put our heads down on the desk, close our eyes, and pray to God for a piece of candy.
Then she would tell us to look up. There would be no candy.
Then she would tell us to put our heads down on the desk and pray for Fidel Castro.
When she told us to look up, there would be a piece of candy.
That is what life in Cuba was like under Castro."
.
Here's how a Cuban woman in America described what life was like in Cuba under Castro as a little girl.
Feel free to substitute: Obama, Chavez, Putin, Ahmedinajad, Kim Jong-Il, or Osama Bin laden for Castro.
"I remember when I was five years old in school the teacher would do the same thing every day….
She would tell us all to put our heads down on the desk, close our eyes, and pray to God for a piece of candy.
Then she would tell us to look up. There would be no candy.
Then she would tell us to put our heads down on the desk and pray for Fidel Castro.
When she told us to look up, there would be a piece of candy.
That is what life in Cuba was like under Castro."
.
To the little eight year old. Santa Claus is alive and well, he lives in every good man and woman's heart.
Faith. It can conquer all doubt. Excellent.
My girl (at 5 years) refused to believe in Santa the man. So I had to think it through- It was tough to think 'cause I was all caught up with the gi'me gi'me and was prepared to give her most on her "Dear Santa" list. What do you tell a kid who's not too partial to the Santa thing? Then just tell me what you want kid! No, I was feeling all Christmasy and stuff- telling how God gave his only begotten son to be with us as human- to live and teach us- to live sinlessly and then to die carrying all of our sins for generations to come. Santa to me- and more importantly to her now, is the Spirit of Giving. She's 9 now, and quizzing her sister as to whether it's better to give or receive. She heard that some of our neighbors had only a few gifts for each child so she regifted a present of hers to bring over. I"m raising a cool kid.
Wow that Might be the saddest letter I've read this year, I get it though but it's sad.
That was back in a time when You'd probably lock the door when you left, but wouldn't make a trip back to check if you did or not. And you'd run into the store and let the car stay running and the heater on, maybe even let little 8 year old Tommy stay in the warm car and wait for you. The times they are a changin'. for the worse. This goes back to the days when Christmas was Christmas, the birth of the lord Jesus Christ,and we sang christian songs at school and had a manger in town. God I ask in the name of Jesus Christ please save us from the PROGESSIVES? I don't know what we're progressing towards but I hope we don't get there.
That was back in a time when You'd probably lock the door when you left, but wouldn't make a trip back to check if you did or not. And you'd run into the store and let the car stay running and the heater on, maybe even let little 8 year old Tommy stay in the warm car and wait for you. The times they are a changin'. for the worse. This goes back to the days when Christmas was Christmas, the birth of the lord Jesus Christ,and we sang christian songs at school and had a manger in town. God I ask in the name of Jesus Christ please save us from the PROGESSIVES? I don't know what we're progressing towards but I hope we don't get there.
My mom told me that back in the 50's and even early 60's it was common for women to leave their babies, in baby carriages, on the side walk outside of stores unattended while they went inside to shop. I myself was such a baby. It was simply unimaginable during that time that anybody would abduct or harm or do anything but smile at the cute little babies. Now we have to fear govt employees molesting our kids just to get on a plane.
I spent Christmas with a neighbor family.
They have a special needs daughter about 24yrs. old.
As I watched her gleefully tear through wrapping paper and boxes my mind wandered back to when I was that child and my heart soared at the thought of what Santa had bought to ME. She wrapped her arms around her Dad and hugged him so tight her turned beet red, but the grinning smile never left his face. As the morning wore on I found myself pulled to this child and soon found myself happily coloring with her. Her boundless inner child took me back along the dusty roads of history to when I was that child. And in her eyes I again saw Santa.
YES I DID
by Publius …there is santa claus
No kid needs lies, represented by a red nosed drunkard – on the day commemorating the day Truth was given to us.
Then you missed the point of the letter the REAL girl wrote to the REAL Sun back in the early 1900s.
And while I agree on the true meaning of Christmas, if done correctly and with some restraint, Santa Claus and the Spirit of Giving is part of that.
Read the response the Sun gave again – it spoke of many Christian values – of loving and forgiving, of giving of oneself and most importantly of FAITH. For there are none of us who have actually SEEN God, and yet we know that He exists and we see His presence in the world around us, in the people around us.
Come on guys, the letter was not written in the paragraph order shown on the blog. The "10 times 10,000 years" quote is at the end. Other paragraphs are also in the wrong order. One would think that probably the most famous editorial ever written could be "re-written" here on this blog.
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