During the holiday season, a plethora of movies hit the screen, songs and jingles blanket the airwaves and appear frequently in print. Radio stations play tunes of all kinds, from country western wails to religious standards. And, of course, Mariah Carey’s “All I want for Christmas” gets pummeled into our minds in almost constant fashion.
Holiday parades, bake sales, school concerts and television specials abound, and pre-Christmas sales fill news ads and shop windows. Kits to build gingerbread houses line store shelves and sweaters adorned with the Grinch, reindeer and glowing ornaments vie for the most memorable, bad taste contest winner.
The quiet season of giving, so often portrayed as a meandering sleigh ride through countryside snow drifts, destined for grandma’s warm kitchen and her gaily decorated Christmas tree, is, instead, often noisy and chaotic. Unfortunately, holiday customs are seldom quiet, and the noise of traffic, cash registers and Mariah Carey fills our days.
But holiday habits remain. Old and newer movies about Scrooge endure, as do those about the desire for a BB gun, a miracle at Macy’s, a chance to consider what life would be like if we’d never been born, and Bruce Willis fighting bah humbug terrorists at an office party.
Whether religious or secular, we are encouraged to “Believe.” Checking in with young children confirms this, as they await the visit from Santa, hoping he will bring them a desired toy or two (or more if you have a grandma like me). He and his fraternity of red suited, jolly fellows seem to be everywhere. It’s probably a good thing that he has all year to make the toys, as his promotion begins before Halloween candy corn is placed on store shelves.
That the chubby guy is real was confirmed long ago by an editorial in the September 1897 issue of the New York Sun. “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” was Francis Pharcellus Church’s response to eight-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon’s letter, asking whether Old Saint Nick existed. She explained that her playmates were telling her that he wasn’t real, and when she asked her father the question, he suggested she write to the newspaper, claiming, “If it’s printed in the Sun, it has to be true.”
Church’s response remains one of the most beautiful holiday sentiments. “Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age.” He continued to write that Santa Claus existed “as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist” and that the world would be “dreary” if he did not. Church argued that just because something could not be seen did not mean it was not real: “Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.”
This led to one of the most reprinted Christmas articles, which became a musical, a book, a film and an enduring phrase. It has been translated into 20 different languages and has become a symbol of childhood innocence around the world.
On another note, the newsman’s middle name, Pharcellus, had me puzzled. Even though it was also his father’s first name, it was the first time I’ve come across such a moniker. Given that his father was a minister, I thought perhaps it was biblical. But no. Even checking with AI failed to produce a definition. You have to wonder if he was bullied on the playground. But I digress.
With the rotund guy being real, children are free to bypass an editorial board and go directly to Santa with their requests, convinced, as Virginia was, that he does indeed exist.
Youngsters in Galva are encouraged to write to Santa, beginning early in December. A special mailbox is available at the local post office, and numerous elves collect the letters and rush them to the North Pole. There, they are read and each request is carefully considered. Everyone gets a written response from Santa’s North Pole administrative assistants.
The requests ranged from Barbies to books, with Play Doh and Lego sets still popular items to be placed under the tree. Titanic themed toys were mentioned often, as were Calico Critters and Paw Patrol pups. A few asked for dolls, while others requested indoor basketball hoops and trampolines. Tech savvy kids asked for iPads, headphones, AirPods, cameras, electric trains and one child asked for a robotic squirrel.
A request for a “real debit card” was on one youngster’s list, as well as several requests for a puppy and two for a turtle.
Slippers were high on the list, as were questions about Santa’s elves. “Why do elves sleep so much?” asked one little boy, “Do they need elf coffee?” Another child requested a “real elf that moves around,” while one little girl simply expressed her love for all of Santa’s helpers.
All of them professed to have been good all year, with one little boy listing the many ways he helps his mother around the house, and that he tries not to get into trouble “most of the time.” Many asked Santa what kind of cookies he likes (one offered to have her mother bake them) and sent greetings to Mrs. Claus. Questions about how fast his sleigh traveled appeared often, with most of the letters adorned with drawings of Santa, his elves, and plates of cookies that would await his visit on Christmas Eve.
All of the letters pointed to the wonders that Christmas brings to a child’s mind. Miss O’Hanlon’s proof that, as long as there are children who believe in Santa, the magic of Christmas will live on.
Virginia O’Hanlon went on to become a New York City public school teacher. Her original letter, valued several years ago at $50,000, is the property of her great granddaughter. Commenting on her cyclical popularity in later years, she remarked, “I’m anonymous from January to November.” But her letter and its response remain a big part of the holiday season.
O’Hanlon lived to be 81 and is buried in Valatie, NY. A statue of Santa Claus was erected nearby, with a plaque honoring her legacy.
Whatever your holiday favorite is, whether it’s a classic movie, a green cartoon character, or a Hallmark tearjerker, enjoy the season’s blessings. Sing along to your favorite tunes (Mariah is always on somewhere – and when she’s finished her refrain, it will live on in your head anyway), eat the cookies, and above all, remember to believe!
