oblongmelon
12-24-2004, 05:05 AM
Editorial Page, The New York Sun, 1897:
We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:
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
Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the scepticism of a sceptical 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 external 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 you 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 men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, 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 lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
tonight....I finally get to take a breath..after the family, the ENTIRE family, comes for the traditional Italian Christmas Eve Fishes, after midnight mass, and after taking a step back in time and checking on each of my children-whom have all come home this year and will all be sleeping back in their own beds for Christmas Eve....I will get to light the trees, look at the decorations, candy canes made out of pipe cleaners, hand cutouts made in Scouts, Dance Medals, Varsity Letters, pinecones found on camping trips and painted crazy colors..popsicle stick reindeer, old registration tags from former pets, and more or so many more items that have been precious to our family through the years..but at the top of the tree in the living room...silently hangs 4 tattered pair of baby shoes-each tied with their own ribbon..reminding me of why I love Christmas so much. And I will toast those baby shoes...who's former feet have now grown into the shoes of loving caring adults..that they may never forget what Christmas means to us....And I send a toast-to everyone here at G|A..that you may enjoy the spirit of the holiday with as much love and faith that my family does..signing off till after Christmas..
Buon Natale...
~Obby
We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:
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
Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the scepticism of a sceptical 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 external 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 you 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 men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, 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 lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
tonight....I finally get to take a breath..after the family, the ENTIRE family, comes for the traditional Italian Christmas Eve Fishes, after midnight mass, and after taking a step back in time and checking on each of my children-whom have all come home this year and will all be sleeping back in their own beds for Christmas Eve....I will get to light the trees, look at the decorations, candy canes made out of pipe cleaners, hand cutouts made in Scouts, Dance Medals, Varsity Letters, pinecones found on camping trips and painted crazy colors..popsicle stick reindeer, old registration tags from former pets, and more or so many more items that have been precious to our family through the years..but at the top of the tree in the living room...silently hangs 4 tattered pair of baby shoes-each tied with their own ribbon..reminding me of why I love Christmas so much. And I will toast those baby shoes...who's former feet have now grown into the shoes of loving caring adults..that they may never forget what Christmas means to us....And I send a toast-to everyone here at G|A..that you may enjoy the spirit of the holiday with as much love and faith that my family does..signing off till after Christmas..
Buon Natale...
~Obby