Yes, Virginia, There Still is A Santa Claus

From: Avishay Artsy
Length: 07:00

Is there a Santa Claus? A look at how today’s embattled editorial writers would answer that question. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: Yes, Virginia, There Still is A Santa Claus
From: Avishay Artsy

Santamugshot_small "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." The statement from a big city newspaperman to a little girl has endured for more that a century as an affirmation of Christmas spirit, the power of belief and the seasonal thawing of cynicism. Producer Avishay Artsy wondered how today’s embattled editorial writers would answer that question. Admittedly, he’s a little more than eight years old, but several still took his call.

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Piece Description

"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." The statement from a big city newspaperman to a little girl has endured for more that a century as an affirmation of Christmas spirit, the power of belief and the seasonal thawing of cynicism. Producer Avishay Artsy wondered how today’s embattled editorial writers would answer that question. Admittedly, he’s a little more than eight years old, but several still took his call.

Broadcast History

Aired on NHPR's "Word of Mouth" on Dec. 24, 2009.

Transcript

In the summer of 1897, soon after her eighth birthday, Virginia O’Hanlon sent off a letter to the editor of the New York Sun. It read:

"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?

A few weeks later, a longtime writer at the Sun, Francis Pharcellus Church, penned a response. It was published in the seventh place on the editorial page, on September 21st, 1897. It began:

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...

The editorial first appeared unsigned. Church wasn’t identified as the author until Christmas of 1906, eight months after his death.

The editorial was not an instant classic. The New York Sun grudgingly reprinted it fiv...
Read the full transcript

Intro and Outro

INTRO:

"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." The statement from a big city newspaperman to a little girl has endured for more that a century as an affirmation of Christmas spirit, the power of belief and the seasonal thawing of cynicism. Producer Avishay Artsy wondered how today’s embattled editorial writers would answer that question. Admittedly, he’s a little more than eight years old, but several still took his call.

OUTRO:

That piece was produced by Avishay Artsy. Special thanks to Cadence Solsky for providing the voice of Virginia O’Hanlon, and to Sean Hurley for the voice of Francis Church.