Hey, Scrooges, there is a Santa Claus.

[jobycom]

"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."

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.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. Yes, Virginia, there are cheesy journalists.

[jobycom]

4. Cheesy, my butt. That's more truth than a simple mind can handle.

[Shakespeare]

2. Very nice.

:thumbsup:

[racaulk]

3. Sorry, but I can't finish reading that dreck.

Bah, humbug.

:puke:

[jobycom]

5. What throws you, the big words or the Platonist concepts?

:P

[racaulk]

7. That an 8-year-old is encouraged to believe in Santa Claus and dancing fairies...

...and other things that don't exist! I understand that young children like to pretend and play, and that's wonderful, expected, and healthy. At some point though, young children become people that have to live in a world where they have to develop their critical thinking skills, see the world for what it is, and stop living in fantasyland. Third grade is as good a time as any.

Like I said, bah, humbug!

:P

[jobycom]

9. Hm. So it was both that threw you.

[racaulk]

13. Whatever you say.

:rofl:

[jobycom]

17. That's the way I see life.

:)

Seriously, though, since the article was obviously not trying to convince the eight year old Virginia O'Hanlon that Santa or fairies literally existed, I don't understand your complaint. If anything, the writer was letting her know that Santa did not literally exist.

[skygazer]

6. "You might as well not believe in fairies!"

:rofl:

Um... I don't believe in fairies either. :eyes:

[azmouse]

8. I think it's beautiful.

[Midlodemocrat]

10. So do I. It's a very sweet reminder of the spirit of the season.

[Symarip]

11. TL;DR

ZZZZZzzzz....

Santa Claus is bullshit.

[jobycom]

12. He's real. You just have a limited understanding of reality.

[Symarip]

21. Fine. 2 can play at this game.

"DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old.
"Some of my little friends say there is no Jesus Christ.
"Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.'
"Please tell me the truth; is there a Jesus Christ?

"VIRGINIA O'HANLON.
"115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET."

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 Jesus Christ. 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 Jesus Christ. 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 Jesus Christ! You might as well not believe in a man creating a woman from his rib! You might get your papa to hire men to watch for the rapture to catch Jesus Christ, but even if they did not see Jesus Christ coming down from heaven, what would that prove? Nobody sees Jesus Christ, but that is no sign that there is no Jesus Christ. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see Moses dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that he's 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 Jesus Christ! 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.

So, how can you not believe in Jesus? You can't disprove he doesn't exist, therefore, he's everywhere like VISA.

[elshiva]

23. BUWhAhhAhaaahha!

:rofl:
:yourock:

[jobycom]

26. It still whooshes right on over you, doesn't it?

Explain what he's telling Virginia? Go for it. Prove to me you understand what he's saying, and I'll quit saying you don't understand it.

[elshiva]

14. Thank goodness there isn't a Santa Claus or a god.

"He knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you are awake..." What a creep! :puke:

[racaulk]

15. Seriously.

If Santa is real, he's a total pev! :P

[Symarip]

16. A fat man stalks you all year long.

He knows everything you've done. He breaks into your house undetected and leaves you stuff. And your parents allow him to do this.

Oh, and he loves rich kids more than poor kids.

Yeah, that's something to believe in.

[jobycom]

18. You're confusing him with that other guy.

[elshiva]

22. The Burger King is as creepy as Santa Claus.

:hide: :yoiks:

[skygazer]

19. It's like the song says

"He sees you when you're sleeping
He knows when you're awake
He knows when you've been whacking off
So hide for goodness sake"

[elshiva]

24. Yes, both god and Santa are particularly interested in

what you do in the bedroom. :puke:

[Lucian]

20. What a bunch of crap.

Nothing like giving children false hope. :puke:

[jobycom]

25. How is it false hope? Do you even understand what he wrote?

He's telling Virginia that Santa doesn't literally exist. How hard is that to grasp?