Where did the phrase, "Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" originate from?

In 1897, Virginia O'Hanlon, then an 8-year-old whose friends had told her that Santa Claus did not truly exist, wrote to the New York Sun for reassurance. ''Please tell me the truth,'' Virginia wrote after being encouraged by her father, a New York City police surgeon and deputy coroner, ''Is there a Santa Claus?''. On September 21, 1897, the press responded with an editorial stating that, "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..."

The author of the response to O'Hanlon's letter was Francis Pharcellus Church, a sardonic Columbia College graduate and a veteran writer at The Sun, a popular daily notable in those days for its lively writing and human interest features. He initially was not interested in responding to the letter, but produced a masterpiece of about 500 words that has been translated in twenty languages.

The story has been retold in a Christmas book, written by Francis Church. It has also been the theme of a Joe Sattler song. A few movie titles carry the title, "Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus", however it was never a line used in the movie, "The Santa Claus".

More Info: www.nytimes.com

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12 Comments

Kevin Dale Streets

Santa and the elves were looking at a map for hours. Finally, one of the elves pointed at one state and said, "Yes, Santa. There IS a Virginia!"

Marcella Kosse

I had a French and a British pen pal as a young ten.John W Shreve,

garrett scott

The "from" in the question must have been from a student who missed a couple of English classes (or wasn't paying attention).

Corey Taylor

Fix your spelling! If you were talking about the holiday movie starring Tim Allen, the name of that film is "The Santa ClausE"!

earlepg

I thought that The Sun and Francis Church did great in going along and continuing their correspondence. They were truthful in their reply and uplifting for many more people than Virginia.

John W Shreve

It almost didn't get written. Significant written communication is disappearing. So much of what we know of history is in personal letters and notes. Even today, a packet of letters from Queen Elizabeth to Francis Drake might be found in an old truss. Would those letters have been written on paper today? Personal letters between lovers or grandmas to granddaughters are becoming a thing of the past. I used to encourage children on my route to have pen pals. Who knows what a "pen pal" is today.

tbear

David Roy, please, don't be such a spoil sport!

Joseph A. Robitaille

A great question and explanation.

Carole Cottrell

New one to me!

Jacqueline Tattam

Chris Bickerdike, Being British is not an excuse. I’m Australian and I’ve heard of it - it’s been the subject of several TV films and written articles.