Christmas Story: Is There A Santa Claus? Extra Listening

In 1897, Dr. Philip O'Hanlon, a coroner's assistant on Manhattan's Upper West Side, was asked by his then eight-year-old daughter, Virginia O'Hanlon (1889–1971) whether Santa Claus really existed.

O'Hanlon suggested she write to The Sun, a prominent New York City newspaper at the time, assuring her that "If you see it in The Sun, it's so."

 

He unwittingly gave one of the paper's editors, Francis Pharcellus Church, an opportunity to rise above the simple question and address the philosophy of the question and the philosophical issues behind it.

Virginia’s letter (and Church’s editorial reply) have passed into Christmas legend. 

In 1897, the eight-year-old girl named Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to The New York Sun asking: "Please tell me the truth: is there a Santa Claus?" The answer she received--"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus"--is one of the most widely reprinted newspaper editorials of all time, appearing in dozens of languages, and in books, movies, posters, and greeting cards. The author of "Yes, Virginia," veteran newsman and Sun editorial writer Francis Pharcellus Church, turned out a 500-word reply, printed on September 21, 1897.

Editorial Page, New York Sun, September 21, 1897:

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:
Virginia O'Hanlon wrote:

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
The Editor replied as follows:

Fill in the gaps:

Your friends have been affected by the (1)__________ of a skeptical age. 

A human being is a (2)_________ insect when compared with the (3)__________ world around us.

Love, generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they (4)___________ 

(5)_________! how (6)___________ would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! 

The external light with which childhood fills the world would be (7)_______________.
 

You might as well not believe in (8)____________. 

We don't see Santa Claus, but that is no (9)_________ that there is no Santa Claus. 

Nobody can (10)____________ or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and (11)____________ in the world.
You can tear apart the baby's (12)_________ and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a (13)____________ covering the unseen world which no one can tear apart. 

Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that (14)___________ and view and picture the (15)___________ beauty and glory beyond

In all this world there is nothing else so real and (16)_____________.

A thousand years from now, Virginia, (17)___________ 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

 

 

KEY 

1. skepticism (also scepticism)

 

 

2. mere: used when you want to emphasize how small, unimportant, etc. somebody/something is. Sp. mero, simple.

 

 

3. boundless:

without limits; seeming to have no end 

 

 

4. abound:
to exist in great numbers or quantities. Sp. abundar.

E.g.
Stories about his travels abound.

 

 5. Alas

alas: /əˈlæs/
used to show you are sad or sorry. Sp. ¡Ay! ¡Qué lástima!, ¡Qué pena!, ¡ay de mí!

E.g.
For many people, alas, hunger is part of everyday life.  

Alas! There was no hope left. Sp. ¡Ay! Ya no quedaba esperanza. 

 

 

 

 

 

6. dreary /ˈdrɪəri/ that makes you feel sad; not bright or interesting. Sp. deprimente, triste, monótono, aburrido.

E.g.

a dreary winter’s day
a dreary film
a long and dreary journey on the train

 

 

 

7. extinguished

 

 

8. fairies

Sp. hadas 

 

 

9.  sign

 

 

10. conceive: imagine. Sp. concebir

 

 

11. unseeable

 

 

12. rattle

rattle: a baby’s toy that makes a series of short loud sounds when it is shaken.

E.g.

Maggie shook the baby's rattle.  Sp.  Maggie agitó el sonajero del bebé

 

 

 

13. veil 

Sp. velo 

 

 

 

14. curtain 

 

 

15. supernal:
/suːˈpəːn(ə)l/ exceptional

 

 

16. abiding 

abiding: /əˈbaɪdɪŋ/ (of a feeling or belief) lasting for a long time and not changing. Sp. permanente.

E.g.
He is an artist with an abiding concern for humanity.

 

 

 

17. nay

nay: /neɪ/ used to emphasize something you have just said by introducing a stronger word or phrase. Sp. no, es más.

E.g.
Such a policy is difficult, nay impossible.

 

 

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except what 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 external 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 you 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 can 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 so real and abiding.
No Santa Claus? Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Virginia O’Hanlon  circa 1895

 

 

coroner: /ˈkɒrənə(r)/ an official whose job is to discover the cause of any sudden, violent or suspicious death by holding an inquest. Sp. médico -a forense, juez -a de instrucción (en casos de muerte violenta o sospechosa).

E.g.

The coroner ordered an investigation into the man's death.

 

prominent: important or well known. Sp. destacado.


E.g. a prominent politician

 

unwittingly: /ʌnˈwɪtɪŋli/ without being aware of what you are doing or the situation that you are involved in. Sp. sin darse cuenta.

E.g.
She had broken the law unwittingly, but still she had broken it.

 

turn out: produce. Sp. producir.

E.g.

This factory turns out 20,000 toothbrushes every day.

 

fancy: something that you imagine; your imagination. Synonym: fantasy.

E.g.

night-time fancies that disappear in the morning.

a child’s wild flights of fancy

flight of fancy/imagination an idea or a statement that shows a lot of imagination but is not practical or sensible. Sp. ilusión, fantasía, castillos en el aire.

E.g.

This idea was one of my wilder flights of fancy.