Is There a Santa Claus?

Is There a Santa Claus?

From the Editorial Page of The New York Sun,
written by Francis P. Church, September 21, 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:

"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 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 child-like 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 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, 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.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Taken from: http://www.stormfax.com/virginia.htm

Home...

Been back home in Malaysia for almost 2 weeks already. But have only been able to go online today. Never really realised the extent to which I rely on the Internet to stay connected to people, to keep in touch, to communicate. So, to all those who were waiting for replies to emails, or for an update, I do apologise.
But anyway, Singapore was quite fun. My uncle and aunt were already at the airport when I touched down. Visited Wan Jie and her family. Had a lot of fun there, and was greatly entertained by the stories her father told. My aunt took me to visit her mother and then to Tiong Bahru Plaza. My uncle recommended Jeffrey Archer novels and I finished three of them while I was there. He also took my sister, brother and me to his school to have a look at his flowers, as well as out to NTUC and Margaret Drive for popiah. Then when my parents came, we went to Vivo City. And I helped to guide my father in driving my brother back to his room. I was happy that all of them liked the souvenirs I got them. =)
However, I think I ate a bit too much there, probably went out too much as well. LOL. Because when I got back to my sister's place in KL, I fell sick. -_- Haha. But am ok now. Will be heading to my sister's place again later today. Because my mother wants me to rebond my hair. So it's off to the hairdresser's tomorrow. Haiz. So Ivy, Fawn and Yu Wan, I'll be getting my hair straightened after all. And then my aunt will be coming on Saturday with the younger of her two sons. So, I'll be back in Bentong only on Monday. Not sure when I'll be online though, when they are both here from Perth. But I'll try to keep this blog updated.