Virginia O'Hanlon: The Little Girl Who Wrote To Santa

  "Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus," the editorial by Francis P. Church was such a success that it became one of the most famous editorials ever written and still stands today. The editorial first appeared in the The New York Sun in 1897, and was so loved by the public that it was reprinted annually until 1949 when the paper went out of business.

Here is what Virginia O’Hanlon said about her famous letter—thirty-six years after it was printed:

"Quite naturally I believed in Santa Claus, for he had never disappointed me. But when less fortunate little boys and girls said there wasn't any Santa Claus, I was filled with doubts. I asked my father, and he was a little evasive on the subject.

"It was a habit in our family that whenever any doubts came up as to how to pronounce a word, or some question of historical fact was in doubt, we wrote to the Question and Answer column in The Sun. Father would always say, 'If you see it in the The Sun, it's so,' and that settled the matter.

"’Well, I'm just going to write The Sun and find out the real truth,' I said to father.

"He said, 'Go ahead, Virginia. I'm sure The Sun will give you the right answer, as it always does.' "

Virginia writes to the newspaper:
Little Virginia wrote to her parents' favorite newspaper, The Sun, asking if there really was a Santa Claus.

Her letter ended up in the hands of a veteran editor, Francis P. Church. He had covered the Civil War for The New York Times, and had worked for the The New York Sun for twenty years. Church being a sardonic man, declared his personal motto to be, "Endeavour to clear your mind of cant." Assignments were usually given to Church with contentious subjects, and especially those dealing with theology.

Indeed, he was burdened with how he might go about answering the little girl’s letter—but answer he must.

What happened to Francis P. Church?
Little did Church realize when he sat at his desk, and began his reply, that it would become one of the most unforgettable editorials in the history of newspaper. Soon after the famous editorial appeared, Church married, and when he died in April 1906, he left no children.

What happened to Virginia O’Hanlon?
At the age of twenty-one, Virginia O'Hanlon graduated from Hunter College with a Bachelor of Arts degree. The following year she received her Master's from Columbia, and in 1912, she started her teaching career in the New York City school system, and later went on to become a principal. After forty-seven years in education, she retired.

Did you know that throughout her life she received continuous letters about her correspondence to the editor? She replied to each one, and attached a printed copy of the famous Frances P. Church editorial. Virginia O'Hanlon-Douglas lived to be eighty-one years old, and died on May 13, 1971, in a nursing home in Valatie, N.Y. Today, children still admire and love her for seeking the truth about Santa. Francis P. Church will always be remembered as a champion throughout the history of literature.

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