| Haha, wow. Thomas and I were recently talking about the good old Antisocks days and I just wanted to see what was going on here these days. Thomas also hates Christmas. I heard it's because he's Communist. A Communist going to hell. So this entry is for Thomas....
"Yes Thomas, There is a Santa Claus" - Ben "Bah humbug your face" Pascual
Ah yes, perhaps the most famous editorial of all time. Though written a little over a hundred years ago, it still strikes a chord within all who read it. It represents all that is good in mankind. It represents the innocence of a child. It represents the importance of faith. It represents the beauty of the human spirit. It represents the true spirit of Christmas. No matter what religion, race, or creed you ascribe to, one cannot deny the impact of this letter’s message. Even if you do not believe in Santa Claus per se, the spirit of “Santa Claus” manifests itself in every random act of kindness. Living in a world where Gordon Gecko’s mantra “Greed is Good” permeates itself throughout every fiber of society. Living in a world where differences beget problems. Living in a world where individualism is rewarded over collaborative efforts. The mere belief that “Santa Claus” exists helps mitigate these problems. Though sad this effort of spirit and generosity exists only once each year, the fact that it only occurs once each year makes it that much more special. This time of year gives hope that mankind is indeed genuinely and innately kind. It gives hope that life is not “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” It gives hope that there will be better times ahead if we believe. The holiday season acts as a reminder that we as individuals in a collaborative effort can make a difference in the world. A difference that will alleviate the world of its current strains and problems. A difference that will allow people to believe anything is possible. All of this is proven through the faith and innocence of a little girl and the kindness of a man rekindling this faith and maintaining this innocence. So to borrow the words of Francis Church, “Yes readers, there is a Santa Claus,” and this Santa Claus exists within each and every one of us.
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
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 external 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 have 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. – Francis Pharcellus Church, New York Sun, 1897 |
