Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus

"Is There a Santa Claus?" was the headline that appeared over an editorial in the September 20, 1897 edition of the "New York Sun". The editorial, which included the response of "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus", has become an indelible part of popular Christmas lore in the United States.

History

In 1897, Dr. Philip O’Hanlon, a coroner's assistant on Manhattan's Upper West Side, was asked by his then eight-year-old daughter, Virginia (1889-1971), whether Santa Claus really existed. Virginia had begun to doubt there was a Santa Claus, because her friends had told her that he did not exist.

Dr. O’Hanlon suggested she write to the "New York Sun", a prominent New York City newspaper at the time, assuring her that "If you see it in The Sun, its so." While he may have been passing the buck, he unwittingly gave one of the paper's editors, Francis Pharcellus Church, an opportunity to rise above the simple question, and address the philosophical issues behind it.

Church was a war correspondent during the American Civil War, a time which saw great suffering and a corresponding lack of hope and faith in much of society. Although the paper ran the editorial in the seventh place on the editorial page, below even an editorial on the newly invented "chainless bicycle", its message was very moving to many people who read it. More than a century later it remains the most reprinted editorial ever to run in any newspaper in the English language.

In 1972, after seeing Virginia O'Hanlon's obituary in the "New York Times", four friends formed a company called Elizabeth Press and published a children's book titled "Yes, Virginia" that illustrated the editorial and included a brief history of the main characters. The book's creators took the book to Warner Brothers who eventually did the Emmy award-winning Television show based on the editorial. The History Channel, in a special that aired on February 21, 2001, noted that Virginia gave the original letter to a granddaughter, who pasted it in a scrapbook. It was feared that the letter was destroyed in a house fire, but thirty years after the fire, it was discovered intact.

Some people have questioned the veracity of the letter's authorship, expressing doubt that a young girl such as Virginia would refer to children her own age as "my little friends". However, the original copy of the letter appeared and was authenticated by an appraiser on the "Antiques Roadshow" in 1998. Its value was appraised by Kathleen Guzman, formerly of Christie's - now with PBS' Antiques Roadshow - at approximately $50,000. [Antiques Roadshow Broadcast Highlights, [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/roadshow/series/highlights/1998/phoenix.html Phoenix Arizona 1998] , Public Broadcasting Service, accessed September 26, 2007]

Interestingly enough, when the editorial is reproduced today, it often omits more than half of Church's original response. One paragraph that is not often repeated begins, "Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies."Fact|date=October 2007

Virginia O'Hanlon's full name is Laura Virginia O'Hanlon Douglas. She was born on July 20, 1889 in Manhattan, New York. She was married to Edward Douglas and was listed as divorced in the 1930 United States Census. Her marriage to Douglas was brief and ended with him deserting her shortly before their child, Laura, was born.cite journal
last = Campbell
first = W. Joseph
year = 2005
month = Spring
title = The grudging emergence of American journalism's classic editorial: New details about "Is There A Santa Claus?"
journal = American Journalism Review
volume = 22
issue = 2
pages =
publisher = Philip Merrill College of Journalism
location = University of Maryland, College Park
url = http://academic2.american.edu/~wjc/santa.htm
accessdate = 2007-10-29
quote = ]

Virginia received her Bachelor of Arts from Hunter College in 1910; a Master's degree in Education from Columbia University in 1912, and a doctorate from Fordham University. Virginia was a school teacher in the New York City School system. She started her career as an educator in 1912, became a junior principal in 1935, and retired in 1959. [cite news
title = Virginia, Now 70, Quits As Teacher; School Principal Who at 8 Asked 'Is There a Santa?' Is a Guest at Dinner
url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60E12FC3558137B93C0A8178DD85F4D8585F9
format = Abstract of subscription pdf
publisher = The New York Times
date = 1959-06-12
accessdate = 2007-10-29
quote = Mrs. Laura Virginia Douglas, retiring after forty-three years as a public school teacher and principal, was given a farewell dinner by her colleagues last night at the Towers Hotel in Brooklyn.]

Virginia died on May 13, 1971 in a nursing home in Valatie, New York. [cite news
title = Virginia O'Hanlon, Santa's Friend, Dies; Virginia O'Hanlon Dead at 81
url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50D17FD355F127A93C6A8178ED85F458785F9
format = Abstract of subscription pdf
publisher = The New York Times
date = 1971-05-14
accessdate = 2007-10-29
quote = Valatie, N. Y., May 13 - Virginia O'Hanlon Douglas, who as a child was reassured that "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus", died today at the age of 81.] She is buried at the Chatham Rural Cemetery in Chatham, New York.

Every year, Virginia's letter and Church's response are read at the Yule Log ceremony at Church's alma mater, Columbia College of Columbia University. [cite web
url = http://barnard.edu/newnews/news120401.html
title = Barnard and Columbia holiday events - Yule Log Ceremony
accessdate = 2007-11-13
date = 2001-12-04
work = Barnard Campus News
publisher = Barnard College, New York City
quote = During the Yule Log ceremony, the passing of the seasons is marked by the reading of... the famous editorial on the true spirit of Christmas, "Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus"]

The story of Virginia's inquiry and the "Sun"'s response was adapted into an Emmy Award-winning animated television special in 1974, animated by Bill Meléndez (best known for his work on the various "Peanuts" specials) and featuring the voices of Jim Backus and Jimmy Osmond, and in 1991 it was adapted into a made-for-TV movie with Ed Asner and Charles Bronson. In New York City, local television journalist Gabe Pressman has recounted the story each Christmas for the past thirty years.Fact|date=October 2007

Virginia O’Hanlon received a steady stream of mail about her letter throughout her life. She would include a copy of the editorial in her replies. [cite web
url = http://www.nationalchristmascenter.com/exhibits/htm/yesvirginia.htm
title = Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus
accessdate = 2007-11-13
last = Morrison
first = Jim "Santa Junior"
coauthors = McElhany, Jennifer
work = National Christmas Centre, Exhibits
publisher = National Christmas Centre
quote = 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.] In an interview later in life, she credited the editorial with shaping the direction of her life quite positively.Fact|date=October 2007

References in popular culture

* The Dresden Dolls used "Yes, Virginia..." as the title of their second album. The story of Virginia and the "New York Sun" article is also referenced by the track "Mrs. O". The Dresden Doll's 2008 compilation album, "No, Virginia..." featured a dead Santa Claus on the cover as a humorous reference to its namesake.
* Weird Al Yankovic used the line "Yes, Virginia, now Santa's doing time" in his Christmas parody, "The Night Santa Went Crazy". [ [http://www.tsrocks.com/w/weird_al_yankovic_texts/the_night_santa_went_crazy.html The Night Santa Went Crazy lyrics by Weird Al Yankovic ] ] These lyrics were changed to "Yes, Virginia, now Santa Claus is dead" for the "Extra Gory Version". [ [http://www.tsrocks.com/w/weird_al_yankovic_texts/the_night_santa_went_crazy_extra_gory_version.html The Night Santa Went Crazy (Extra Gory Version) lyrics by Weird Al Yankovic ] ]
* In Season 1 Episode 5 of "", Detective Munch expounds "Yes, Santa, there is a Virginia" when the missing person of interest Virginia Hayes is found in Grand Central Station.
* In the TV show "Veronica Mars", the tenth episode of the first season ends with the line "No Veronica, there is no Santa Claus"
* In his book "Liberwocky", Victor Gold includes a parody of the editorial, listing reasons why Santa Claus is "wanted" by the U.S. government.
* Season 4 episode 14 of "Hercules: the Legendary Journeys", is an episode titled "Yes Virginia, there is a Hercules". At the end of this episode it is revealed that Kevin Sorbo (the actor who portrays Hercules in the show) is in fact Hercules, and exists in the present day.
*In Season 2 Episode 13 ("Strangled") of "Crossing Jordan," Dr. Nigel Townsand, criminologist, exclaims: "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus!" after he hears some good news.
*In 1950 Wolcott Gibbs of The New Yorker wrote a satirical version of the Church letter, parodying the style of Westbrook Pegler, and depicting Santa Claus as an old communist and union racketeer also known as Comrade Jelly Belly. [Collected in Gibbs's "More in Sorrow", 1958.]

ee also

*Christmas stories

Bibliography

*American National Biography. "Virginia O'Hanlon". V. 16. 1999. p.645-646.

References and notes

*cite news|author = Thomas Vinciguerra|title = Yes, Virginia, A Thousand Times Yes|work=The Week in Review|publisher=The New York Times|date= 1997-09-21

External links

* [http://www.newseum.org/yesvirginia/ Full text of the editorial with digital image from the original newspaper.] From the Newseum, Arlington, VA
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* [http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-69-412-2344/life_society/christmas_fun/clip4 CBC radio interview of Virginia O'Hanlon Douglas in 1963]