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1897年某日，家住纽约曼哈顿上城西侧，时年8岁的小女孩弗吉尼娅?·?欧汉伦 （Virginia O'Hanlon） 问父亲：圣诞老人是否真的存在？父亲告诉她：向《纽约太阳报》写信询问，便会得知真相。于是弗吉尼娅写了一封短信，寄给报社。
编辑弗朗西斯?·?彻奇 （Francis Pharcellus Church） 收到来信后，决定用报纸的社评予以回复。彻奇曾是美国南北战争时期的一名战地记者，看到过很多血腥场面，并同时感到社会中普遍的绝望情绪。他希望利用回答这一孩子的简单提问之际，亦能对其更深层次的哲理进行一些探讨。
于是在1897年9月21日，报纸刊出由彻奇撰写的题为《Is There a Santa Claus？》的社评。虽然出现在第七版一个不起眼的位置上，这篇感人至深的短文还是迅速引起了读者的注意，被争相传阅。特别是其中“真的，弗吉尼娅，圣诞老人是真的”一句，广为流传，成为这篇短文的代名词。而这篇社评，至今仍保持着英文史上重印次数最多的报纸社评记录。
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.
1897年某日，家住纽约曼哈顿上城西侧，时年8岁的小女孩弗吉尼娅?·?欧汉伦 （Virginia O'Hanlon） 问父亲：圣诞老人是否真的存在？父亲告诉她：向《纽约太阳报》写信询问，便会得知真相。于是弗吉尼娅写了一封短信，寄给报社。
编辑弗朗西斯?·?彻奇 （Francis Pharcellus Church） 收到来信后，决定用报纸的社评予以回复。彻奇曾是美国南北战争时期的一名战地记者，看到过很多血腥场面，并同时感到社会中普遍的绝望情绪。他希望利用回答这一孩子的简单提问之际，亦能对其更深层次的哲理进行一些探讨。
于是在1897年9月21日，报纸刊出由彻奇撰写的题为《Is There a Santa Claus？》的社评。虽然出现在第七版一个不起眼的位置上，这篇感人至深的短文还是迅速引起了读者的注意，被争相传阅。特别是其中“真的，弗吉尼娅，圣诞老人是真的”一句，广为流传，成为这篇短文的代名词。而这篇社评，至今仍保持着英文史上重印次数最多的报纸社评记录。
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.