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1897年某日，家住紐約曼哈頓上城西側(cè)，時年8歲的小女孩弗吉尼婭 · 歐漢倫 （Virginia O'Hanlon） 問父親：圣誕老人是否真的存在？父親告訴她：向《紐約太陽報》寫信詢問，便會得知真相。于是弗吉尼婭寫了一封短信，寄給報社。

編輯弗朗西斯 · 徹奇 （Francis Pharcellus Church） 收到來信后，決定用報紙的社評予以回復(fù)。徹奇曾是美國南北戰(zhàn)爭時期的一名戰(zhàn)地記者，看到過很多血腥場面，并同時感到社會中普遍的絕望情緒。他希望利用回答這一孩子的簡單提問之際，亦能對其更深層次的哲理進行一些探討。

于是在1897年9月21日，報紙刊出由徹奇撰寫的題為《Is There a Santa Claus？》的社評。雖然出現(xiàn)在第七版一個不起眼的位置上，這篇感人至深的短文還是迅速引起了讀者的注意，被爭相傳閱。特別是其中“真的，弗吉尼婭，圣誕老人是真的”一句，廣為流傳，成為這篇短文的代名詞。而這篇社評，至今仍保持著英文史上重印次數(shù)最多的報紙社評記錄。

Virginia O'Hanlon （circa 1895）

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.

115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET.

Newsman Francis Pharcellus Church wrote The Sun's response to Virginia.

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 they 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 may 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， fancy， 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 he lives forever. A thousand years from now， Virginia， nay， ten times ten thousand years from now， he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.