Famous newspaper editorial put 8-year-old girl's mind at ease: Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus - Polidicks

[img]http://resources2.news.com.au/cs/newscomau/v2/_shared/base/css/images/icons/homepage-title.png[/img] Source: [url]http://www.news.com.au/world/famous-newspaper-editorial-put-8-year-old-girls-mind-at-ease-yes-virginia-there-is-a-santa-claus/story-fndir2ev-1225975460115[/url] [img]http://resources2.news.com.au/images/2010/12/23/1225975/459982-finland-santa-health-flu.jpg[/img] [I]Straight from the North Pole: A little girl's question was answered 115 years ago. Source: AP[/I] [quote][B]ONE hundred and 15 years ago, a little girl by the name of Virginia O'Hanlon was being teased about Santa Claus by her friends.[/B] Virginia wrote a letter to the editor of the New York Sun. Francis P. Church published this heart-felt response. Francis' response still resonates today and has equal meaning. Merry Christmas to all the readers of The Daily Telegraph, the Sunday Telegraph and [URL=http://www.thetelegraph.com.au/]www.TheTelegraph.com.au[/URL] ----------------------------------------- [B]Francis responded:[/B] 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: [B]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[/B] Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical 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 childlike 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, 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 lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood. [url=http://resources.news.com.au/files/2012/12/24/1226542/921987-the-original-newspaper-clipping.jpg][b]Read the original newspaper clipping here[/b][/url][/quote]

She sure showed them!

Latest news article ever posted here?

What prick writes a letter like that in response to an Eight year old girl? She can't understand all of that.

this is a dangerous kind of thinking.

Interesting how language has changed.

[quote]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.[/quote] Very whimsical, but it doesn't make much sense.

[quote]ONE hundred and 15 years ago[/quote] Is this a kotaku article?

Santa Claus is a robber, he steals milk and cookies and illegally breaks into people's homes, and yet manages to get away with it Someone has to stay up overnight with the hunting rifle or plant a bomb in the chimney

[QUOTE=Riller;38957986]Latest news article ever posted here?[/QUOTE] You article beats it by two, unfortunately.

[QUOTE=Megafan;38958183]Very whimsical, but it doesn't make much sense.[/QUOTE] Gotta remember that this was directed at a child, and the editor was probably trying to keep her sense of wonder intact [QUOTE=Milkdairy;38958650]You article beats it by two, unfortunately.[/QUOTE] Not anymore

[QUOTE=GoldenGnome;38958089]this is a dangerous kind of thinking.[/QUOTE] Keep in mind, this is from the late 1800s in America. Pretty much everything was about religion back then. It would've been considered weird if you [i]weren't[/i] a bible-toting zealot.

I think you guys are looking into this too hard. It does make a good point though, that direct evidence alone isn't end-all. Hell, a TON of astronomy is based off of indirect evidence.

[QUOTE=Megafan;38958183]Very whimsical, but it doesn't make much sense.[/QUOTE] doesn't take a whole lot to see fairies dancing on the lawn

[QUOTE=QwertySecond;38958112]Interesting how language has changed.[/QUOTE] I really do miss how people talked back then.

[QUOTE=TurtleeyFP;38960084]Keep in mind, this is from the late 1800s in America. Pretty much everything was about religion back then. It would've been considered weird if you [i]weren't[/i] a bible-toting zealot.[/QUOTE] not really actually, secularism was pretty popular [editline]24th December 2012[/editline] [quote]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 childlike 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.[/quote] i'm going to vomit

Wasn't this featured in a [I]very[/I] classic Christmas movie? Miracle on 34th Street?

This.. is The Sun? The uneducated cesspit of misinformation? If this is the worst literacy we had to offer back then, I wonder what The Guardian was like.

I read "as dreary as a world without Virginias" as... well, you can guess. Also, you guys should lighten the hell up. I don't think being raised into rigorous scientific thinking is a great thing. Also, despite the questionable reasoning, this is heartwarming as hell. It made me feel nice, at least. [sp]Also, you should maybe question the fact that this is a guy trying to prove that there is a Santa Claus. Imagine doing the same. This kind of reasoning is necessary if you're going to attempt to defend his existence. It makes sense that he had to stretch it a bit and cover up crapass logic with nice words.[/sp]