The exact words
“Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist.”Francis Pharcellus Church, “Is There a Santa Claus?”, The Sun, New York, September 21, 1897
✓ VerifiedFound in a primary source: the original book, speech transcript, letter or recording.
What people get wrong
Common reading
A sweet white lie told to a child.
A sweet white lie told to a child.
Closer to the original
Church's reply is a short essay about things that are real but cannot be seen or proved, such as love and faith. He tells Virginia her friends have been affected by “the skepticism of a skeptical age,” and defends wonder against it.
Church's reply is a short essay about things that are real but cannot be seen or proved, such as love and faith. He tells Virginia her friends have been affected by “the skepticism of a skeptical age,” and defends wonder against it.
Timeline
- 1897Eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon writes to The Sun after some of her friends tell her Santa Claus does not exist. Her father has told her, “If you see it in The Sun it's so.”
- September 21, 1897The paper prints her letter with an unsigned reply of about 400 words by the editorial writer Francis Church.
- 1906Church dies, and only then is he publicly named as the author.
- 1924–1950The Sun reprints the editorial every Christmas until the paper closes. It becomes the most reprinted newspaper editorial in the English language.
Use it in a speech
In 1897 a newspaper told a little girl named Virginia that Santa exists as certainly as love and generosity exist. Looking around this table tonight, I'd say they were right.
~10 secondsto say aloud
Pauseafter “generosity exist”
Best spotthe Christmas Eve toast
“Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” is remembered as a kindness to a child, but Church's editorial is really a defense of everything that is real yet unseen.
~9 secondsto say aloud
Pausenone needed in writing
Best spotopening sentence
Questions people ask
Who wrote “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus”?
Francis Pharcellus Church, an editorial writer at The Sun in New York. It was published unsigned on September 21, 1897.
Was Virginia a real girl?
Yes. Virginia O'Hanlon was eight when she wrote the letter. She later became a teacher and school principal in New York and answered mail about the letter for the rest of her life.
Why was it published in September?
It first appeared on September 21, 1897, months before Christmas. It became a Christmas tradition only through later reprints.
Cite this quote
These cite the original source directly, so you can use them in an essay or paper. Always check your teacher's required style.
MLAChurch, Francis Pharcellus. “Is There a Santa Claus?”, unsigned editorial in The Sun. September 21, 1897. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes,_Virginia,_there_is_a_Santa_Claus.
APAChurch, F. P. (1897). “Is There a Santa Claus?”, unsigned editorial in The Sun. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes,_Virginia,_there_is_a_Santa_Claus
CHICAGOFrancis Pharcellus Church, “Is There a Santa Claus?”, unsigned editorial in The Sun, September 21, 1897.
IN TEXT (APA)(Church, 1897)