海角大神

Santa Claus? Yes and no, Virginia.

More than a century ago Francis Pharcellus Church, an editor at the old New York Sun, answered young Virginia O'Hanlon's question about Santa Claus. Wonder what he'd say today?

Dear Editor: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, 鈥淚f you see it in The Sun it鈥檚 so.鈥� Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?

鈥� Virginia O鈥橦anlon, writing to the New York Sun, 1897

Virginia, your little friends are affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. But your dad 鈥� whoa. Doesn鈥檛 he listen to talk radio or follow the blogs, tweets, or Facebook feeds of presidential hopefuls and reality-show celebrities? Hasn鈥檛 he heard of the 鈥渓amestream media鈥�?

I鈥檓 as proud of my profession as any other handsomely compensated editor, but Papa might remember that the old New York Sun is the newspaper that in 1835 published what is known as 鈥淭he Great Moon Hoax,鈥漚 six-part series that described astronomical observations of life on the moon. It was a fabulous tale 鈥� walking beavers, bat-winged humanoids, amphitheaters made of ruby. The reports by 鈥�Dr. Andrew Grant鈥� were great for circulation. Credibility? Not so much, beginning with Dr. Grant, who, uh, didn鈥檛 exist. Let鈥檚 just say that if Papa sees a story in the Sun (the 19th-century version, not the Web-only 21st century version) he might want to check it out on Snopes.com or Factcheck.org.

Anyhoo. Back to Santa. There are two answers to that. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. There are thousands of them. You鈥檝e seen them outside the grocery store, at Macy鈥檚, on TV, at holiday parties. They are at the center of the all-out commercial culture that retailers, advertisers, and newspapers have been promoting since the 19th century. Christmas spending is the engine of the retail economy. Nothing wrong with that, as long as you and all the other Virginias keep your spending modest and don鈥檛 run up the credit cards.

I鈥檓 guessing, though, that you are really wondering if there is one true Santa living at the North Pole with magical elves, flying reindeer, and, of course, that naughty/nice list. That鈥檚 a tough one. I don鈥檛 want to rob childhood of its sweetness any more than another old newspaperman, Francis Pharcellus Church, did in the original Sun when he praised your 鈥渃hildlike faith鈥� and told you, 鈥淭he most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see.鈥�

He was right about that. There鈥檚 more to life than we get from our senses. May I suggest that you and Papa and Mama have a talk rather than writing to a newspaper? Newspapers can give you information and context, but it is at home that you will begin to understand the unseen. Parents are the primary guide of what children believe, whether it is religion or nutrition, favoring a local sports team or trusting the media. Faith starts at home.

And faith is indeed what we鈥檙e talking about, Virginia. There鈥檚 precious little of it to go around. In many ways, that鈥檚 a good thing. Thinking people of all ages should always be asking questions and seeking proof of assertions. Opinions are cheap and attitudes are easy to cop. Science, philosophy, government, journalism 鈥� all only get better when tough questions are asked and answered.

But while blind faith in people and institutions isn鈥檛 healthy, that doesn鈥檛 mean there鈥檚 no room for looking at the stars and wondering why we are here and what our purpose is. You may not know the answer rationally, but you can feel it. And if you look around with a certain kind of appreciative vision, you can see it. It doesn鈥檛 take fantasy characters with red suits and white beards. It doesn鈥檛 require toys under the tree. It鈥檚 there in an unexpected smile or the way you feel when you do something good even when no one is looking.

A much earlier writer called that 鈥渢he evidence of things not seen.鈥� Faith in Santa? Not necessary, Virginia. But faith in what Mr. Church called 鈥渢he supernal beauty and glory beyond鈥�? Yes, Virginia, you can definitely have faith in that.

John Yemma is the editor of 海角大神.