Evening journal., 1913-12-24
NO SANTA CLAUS?
OF COURSE THERE IS!

According to many the Christmas
season would not be really Christ
masy if they did not reread the So
called New York letter to Virginia,
which written in that paper years
ago. has since that time passed in
to the general circulation Of Christ
mastide literature adong with THE
Night Before Christmas and Dick
ems Christmas Carol"
The letter IS reprinted. with its la
test official Introduction. as follows:
Is THERE 4 SANTA CLAUSE
Reprinted at the request of many
friends of Santa Claus. of the little
Yirginias OF yesterday and today
and of the author of the essay. the
late f. p Church.
We take pleasure in answering at
once and thus prominently the com
munication below, expressing at the
same time our great qualification
that Is faithful author is numbered
among the friends OF the Sun
Dear Editor am eight years old.
Some of my little friends say there
is no Santa Claus
Please tell me the truth; is there a
Santa Claus
VIRGINIA O'HANLON.
ll5 West 95th street.
Virginia. your little friends are
wrong. They have been affected by
/ the scepticism of sceptical age
They do not believe except they see
( They think that nothing can be which
is not comprehensive by their little
minds All minds, Virginia. whether
7 hr q ~ a.
In this great universe Of ours. man
is mere insect. an ant in his intel
lect. 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 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 IL there were no Santa
! Claus II would be as droary as II
there we're no Virginias. There
would be no child-lke faith then no
/ poetry no romance TO make tolerablc
! this existence. We should have no
enjoyment. except in sense and sight.
{ The eternal light with which child
hood fills the world would be ex-
/ tinauished.
Not believe in Santa Claus! You
might as well not believe in fairiesl
! You might get your papa to hire
men TO watch in all the chimneys on
/ Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus.
but even II 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 San
Ia Claus. The most real things in the
world are those that neither chill
dren 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 con-
ceivc or imagine all the wonders
there are unseen and unseeablc in the
world.
You may tear apart the baby's rat
/ tie and see what makes the noise in
/ SIDE but there is 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 pic
ture the supernatural beauty snd
glory beyond. Is II all real? All. Vir-
ginis. in all this world there is moth
ing else real and abiding.
No Santa Claus? Thank God he
lives and lives forever. A thousand
years from now. Virginia. nay. ten
times ten thousand years from now.
he will continue to make glad the
hearts Of childhood.