| From The People's Almanac, pp.
1358-9.
Francis P. Church's editorial,
"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." was an
immediate sensation, and became one of the most famous editorials ever written. It first
appeared in the The New York Sun in 1897, almost a hundred years ago, and was
reprinted annually until 1949 when the paper went out of business.
Thirty-six years after her letter
was printed, Virginia O'Hanlon recalled the events that
prompted her letter:
"Quite naturally I believed in
Santa Claus, for he had never disappointed me. But when less fortunate little boys and
girls said there wasn't any Santa Claus, I was filled with doubts. I asked my father, and
he was a little evasive on the subject.
"It was a habit in our family
that whenever any doubts came up as to how to pronounce a word or some question of
historical fact was in doubt, we wrote to the Question and Answer column in The Sun.
Father would always say, 'If you see it in the The Sun, it's so,' and that
settled the matter.
" 'Well, I'm just going to
write The Sun and find out the real truth,' I said to father.
"He said, 'Go ahead, Virginia.
I'm sure The Sun will give you the right answer, as it always does.' "
And so Virginia sat down and wrote
her parents' favorite newspaper.
Her letter found its way into the
hands of a veteran editor, Francis P. Church. Son of a Baptist minister, Church had
covered the Civil War for The New York Times and had worked on the The
New York Sun for 20 years, more recently as an anonymous editorial writer. Church,
a sardonic man, had for his personal motto, "Endeavour to clear your mind of
can't." When controversial subjects had to be tackled on the editorial page, especially
those dealing with theology, the assignments were usually given to Church.
Now, he had in his hands a little
girl's letter on a most controversial matter, and he was burdened with the responsibility
of answering it.
"Is there a Santa Claus?"
the childish scrawl in the letter asked. At once, Church knew that there was no avoiding
the question. He must answer, and he must answer truthfully. And so he turned to his desk,
and he began his reply which was to become one of the most memorable editorials in
newspaper history.
Church married shortly after the
editorial appeared. He died in April, 1906, leaving no children.
Virginia O'Hanlon went on to
graduate from Hunter College with a Bachelor of Arts degree at age 21. The following year
she received her Master's from Columbia, and in 1912 she began teaching in the New York
City school system, later becoming a principal. After 47 years, she retired as an
educator. Throughout her life she received a steady stream of mail about her Santa Claus
letter, and to each reply she attached an attractive printed copy of the Church editorial.
Virginia O'Hanlon Douglas died on May 13, 1971, at the age of 81, in a nursing home in
Valatie, N.Y.
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