Probably the most important editorial ever written in the history of mankind. It makes me cry every time I read it. I wish they’d quit reprinting it.
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 St.Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except 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.
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 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, not 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.
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.
Thank goodness. I checked and saw that this is originally from the NY Sun and printed 9/21/1897 so I’m sure it’s in the public domain. I was afraid the content police would be coming after you for stealing the property of the NY Sun or the poor little innocent Virginia.
I love reading this piece. Every year our paper prints it. Think how sad it would be if you would have to find the person (more likely the large corporation that would want to charge you) who had the legal rights to this article in order to share it with the world. I doubt the author Francis Pharcellus Church would want anything but to have it read to children everywhere.
Well what about the next great story like this. Will we be able to share it. If not, that would be so sad.
Enough of being a downer. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone out there, especially any little girls named Virginia.
1897 eh? Well, that’d explain the reference to fairies as fact.
Do you think people would quote the saying “…Yes Virginia, there really is a Santa…” as much if Virginia’s name was was actually Bob?
…better Bob then “Yes dubya, there really is a Santa”