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.

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.

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.

Click here to see the actual editorial, and a picture of the wonderful man who wrote it







Merry Christmas everyone. And remember, you're never to old to believe.

I think it's time for my favorite christmas tradition.

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.

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.

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.

Click here to see the actual editorial, and a picture of the wonderful man who wrote it

Happy Holidays everyone. And remember, you're never to old to believe.

I stooooooooooooooole this from icanseethebunny because these are great for distracting myself when I have too much to say but no ability to say it.

1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. Press forward for each question.
3. Use the song title as the answer to the question.

What does next year have in store for me?
"No One Is Alone" - Into the Woods
Sort of a mixed message with that one.

What's my love life like?
"Castle on a Cloud" - Les Miz...
Imaginary. That about sums it up alright.

What do I say when life gets hard?
"I'll See it Through" - Texas
I only wish I were that strong of a person. I'm more the cry and sit in a corner and whine type.

What do I think when I get up in the morning?
"Higher" - Creed
That's complicated thinking for first thing in the morning.

What song will I dance to at my wedding?
"Turning" - Les Miz
WTF I think NOT

What do you want as a career?
"Wide World of Novel Writing" - Monty Python..
...my mother has gotten to you ITunes, hasn't she?

Your favorite saying?
"Phantasia" - Julian Lloyd Webber
Hardly, but it IS a beautiful piece that combines all the music from Phantom into about 35 minutes. I approve.

Favorite place?
"Strangers in the Night" - Frank Sinatra
I'm not even going there.

What do you think of your parents?
"I Don't Want To Spoil The Party" - The Beatles
That sounds about right oddly enough. Only in one sense of the relationship however.

Where would you go on a first date?
"Lullabye" - Loudon Wainwright III
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA OMG NO "Shut up and go to bed" HA!

Describe yourself?
"The Theft of a Rose" - Adriano from the silent version of Beauty and the Beast
Um....bzuh?

What is the thing I like doing most?
"My Romance/The Folks Who Live on the Hill" - Howard McGillin (WHO IS AMAZING OMG)
so..loving? I suppose so.

What is my state of mind like at the moment?
"Popular" - Wicked...
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA YEAH RIGHT, the girl with one friend popular. AHAHAHAHAHA *dies*

How will I die?
"The Trouble With Love Is" - Kelly Clarkson
How uplifting. Broken hearted. Nice. That's the second Love Actually song on here..hmm.

The song you'll put as the subject?
"A Holly Jolly Christmas" - Burl Ives.
Duly noted.


speaking of which, I shall never forgive Rankin Bass for changing the song in Rudolph. I have had this tape since 1986 of a bunch of christmas shows that my mom taped for me (obviously, since I was only 2 then) and I watch it every single year. It's my tradition. Rudolph is on there, of course. Rudolph and Hermey sing a song called "Fame and Fortune" on my tape. I caught it on tv a few years back and they sang something completely different! I was floored! And outraged! You don't change my christmas traditions!