To Virginia’s Family, Yes, Santa Claus Is Still Real

[no_hypocrisy]

For generations since, Miss O’Hanlon’s descendants have quietly become ambassadors of the Christmas spirit, crossing the country to appear at events honoring her, and reading the letter and the response to children in schools and to their own children at home. They keep “Yes, Virginia” coffee mugs in their kitchen cupboards, hang “Yes, Virginia” ornaments on their Christmas trees. Come December, their names and faces turn up in newspapers and on television programs around the world, as well as in the company newsletters of their various workplaces.

-snip-

Miss O’Hanlon’s relatives look upon their fame for the most part as a kind of civic duty, standing up for a matriarch who in the public mind is forever a curious child of 8. They receive no royalties from the many products, books and animated and live-action television specials that Miss O’Hanlon’s letter and Mr. Church’s editorial inspired over the years. “How can you own something like that?” Mr. Temple said.

-more-

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/25/nyregion/25virginia.html?hp



Merry Christmas, DU!