"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" editorial - September 21, 1897

On this day in 1897, the now-famous editorial answering Virginia O'Hanlon's question about whether Santa Claus exists was printed in the New York Sun. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This Day in History Class is a production of I
Heart Radio. Hi there, Welcome to This Day in History Class,
where we sift through the artifacts of history seven days
a week. Today is September one, nineteen. The day was September.

(00:27):
In an editorial in The New York Sun, writer Francis
Varcela's Church responded to a girl's question of whether there
is really a Santa Claus. The editorial is the most
reprinted in the English language. Earlier that month, a girl
living in New York City named Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a
letter to The New York Sun. It said, Dear editor,

(00:50):
I am eight 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
that is there a Santa Claus. Francis Parcella's Church was
a Columbia College graduate and a longtime writer at The
New York Sun. The newspaper was known for its engaging

(01:11):
writing and its human interest stories. Church's brother once owned
The New York Sun and Church wrote for it. Then
he left the paper when the family sold it back
to its original owner, but he returned in eighteen seventy
four as an editor and writer under editor in chief
Edward P. Mitchell. He wrote thousands of editorials for the Sun,

(01:33):
but he has best remembered for his response to Virginia O'Hanlon.
Church was given the task of answering Virginia's question in
the Sun. He was known for writing about controversial issues,
especially once about politics and religion, so Virginia's question was
normally not in his wheelhouse. Mitchell said that he quote
bristled and pooh pooed at the subject, but he took

(01:55):
the letter and turned with an air of resignation to
his desk, and in a short time produced the classic
expression of Christmas sentiment. He began his anonymous letter by writing, quote, 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

(02:17):
is not comprehensible by their little minds. He goes on
to say the following, Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa clause.
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 jury would
be the world if there were no Santa Claus. Yes, Virginia,

(02:42):
there is a Santa Claus became the most memorable line
of the editorial, which did not deny there was a
Santa Clause, but also did not affirm that Santa Claus existed.
It provided commentary on faith, much of which was more
for adult readers than for Virginia. Neither Church nor The
Sun considered the editorial remarkable. It was buried between other

(03:04):
unremarkable articles in the paper, but the editorial was popular
with readers of the Sun. That said, it did have
his critics, like those who thought Church was encouraging children
to believe in fantasies and discouraging healthy skepticism. After initially
turning down requests for reprints of Yes, Virginia, the paper

(03:25):
reprinted it in nineteen o two. It wasn't revealed that
Church wrote the editorial until after his death in nineteen
o six. At that point, the paper reprinted the editorial
under Church's name. In nineteen four, The Sun began publishing
it as the lead editorial around Christmas time every year
until the paper folded in nineteen fifty. Virginia Ohanland became

(03:48):
a school teacher and once said that she appreciated the
editorials philosophy more as she got older. Over the years,
the editorial became a part of popular culture, inspiring zig movies, plays,
and other works. I'm Eve Jeffcote and hopefully you know
a little more about history today than you did yesterday.

(04:09):
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(04:29):
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