Opinion > Star Staff
Don't forget the reason for the season
By Ken Byler, Up the Creek
Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. That was the first sentence of the third paragraph in an editorial written in response to 8-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon's letter inquiring about the existence of Santa Claus. The editorial was written in 1897 by Frank Church of the New York Sun. The editorial response was to assure a child that the Christmas traditions of faith, hope and charity embodied in an unseen jolly elf dressed in red were values to live by.
Church's editorial in defense of Santa Claus has become America's most-famous editorial of all time.
But Santa Claus doesn't need to be defended anymore. He owns a car factory now, and he's leaving Mercedes Benzes in folks' driveways on Christmas morning. They even come with big red bows on them. Ho ho ho.
It's getting harder and harder to feel joyous about the Christmas season. It's turned into an annual battle between secular retail commerce and religious observance. The mood of the country has changed. If you thought "It's A Wonderful Life," "Miracle on 34th Street" or "A Christmas Story" are the highest dollar-grossing movies about Christmas, you'd be wrong. "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" is No. 1. Even Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and Will Farrell's "Elf" are way ahead of the aforementioned three classics.
A lot of folks believe the Christmas season has turned into way too much about reindeers with red noses, trees, holly, shopping, Post-office crushes and gifting. Even Christmas entertainment has changed. Folks used to look forward to Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra or John Williams conducting the Philadelphia Symphony at the Washington, D.C., Christmas celebrations.
This year folks can look forward to Korean gangster rapper "Psy" performing for the president at the "Christmas in Washington" concert. I suspect "Psy" will be performing with the same spirit of joy that he was in a while back when he performed the rap song about "killing Yankees slowly and painfully who are torturing Iraqis and their families." I'm guessing that "Psy" has forgotten about all the "Yankee" blood spilled in his country so he wouldn't have to starve under the Kim family communist dictatorship.
At our house we're trying to hang onto the Christmas-past concept. There may be no presents under the tree, but there is a nativity scene. "Oh, Holy Night" and "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear" are on the record player. We're still sending Christmas cards that say "Merry Christmas." We send cards to folks we haven't heard from in years. We don't even know if some of them are still alive. Whether they are or not isn't the point. The point is remembrance. Each time we address a card to an old friend, a picture of better times spent with them dances through our minds, and old joys are relived.
We give Christmas presents only to little folks. We tell the grandkids that Santa doesn't own a Mercedes factory and they can show Mother they love her without buying her diamonds. We stick a dollar in the Salvation Army bucket every time there's an extra buck in our pocket. Some might say we're cheap. We like to think we're old-fashioned.
It's only my opinion, but I believe that Frank Church's 1897 NY Sun editorial was the first public defense of Christmas traditions. It touched the heart of many in an uneasy time. Virginia O'Hanlon said the editorial "shaped her life in a positive way" and she went on to earn a master's degree at Columbia and a doctorate at Fordham University. She retired as a schoolteacher in 1959.
As for me, I believe it's time for another editorial to lift the hearts of folks out there struggling to make sense of the Christmas season. How about "Yes Virginia, there is Jesus Christ"? He's the reason for the season.
Ken Byler is a Star Newspapers columnist, author and artist. Email him at Kbyler@tx.rr.com.
Church's editorial in defense of Santa Claus has become America's most-famous editorial of all time.
But Santa Claus doesn't need to be defended anymore. He owns a car factory now, and he's leaving Mercedes Benzes in folks' driveways on Christmas morning. They even come with big red bows on them. Ho ho ho.
It's getting harder and harder to feel joyous about the Christmas season. It's turned into an annual battle between secular retail commerce and religious observance. The mood of the country has changed. If you thought "It's A Wonderful Life," "Miracle on 34th Street" or "A Christmas Story" are the highest dollar-grossing movies about Christmas, you'd be wrong. "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" is No. 1. Even Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and Will Farrell's "Elf" are way ahead of the aforementioned three classics.
A lot of folks believe the Christmas season has turned into way too much about reindeers with red noses, trees, holly, shopping, Post-office crushes and gifting. Even Christmas entertainment has changed. Folks used to look forward to Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra or John Williams conducting the Philadelphia Symphony at the Washington, D.C., Christmas celebrations.
This year folks can look forward to Korean gangster rapper "Psy" performing for the president at the "Christmas in Washington" concert. I suspect "Psy" will be performing with the same spirit of joy that he was in a while back when he performed the rap song about "killing Yankees slowly and painfully who are torturing Iraqis and their families." I'm guessing that "Psy" has forgotten about all the "Yankee" blood spilled in his country so he wouldn't have to starve under the Kim family communist dictatorship.
At our house we're trying to hang onto the Christmas-past concept. There may be no presents under the tree, but there is a nativity scene. "Oh, Holy Night" and "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear" are on the record player. We're still sending Christmas cards that say "Merry Christmas." We send cards to folks we haven't heard from in years. We don't even know if some of them are still alive. Whether they are or not isn't the point. The point is remembrance. Each time we address a card to an old friend, a picture of better times spent with them dances through our minds, and old joys are relived.
We give Christmas presents only to little folks. We tell the grandkids that Santa doesn't own a Mercedes factory and they can show Mother they love her without buying her diamonds. We stick a dollar in the Salvation Army bucket every time there's an extra buck in our pocket. Some might say we're cheap. We like to think we're old-fashioned.
It's only my opinion, but I believe that Frank Church's 1897 NY Sun editorial was the first public defense of Christmas traditions. It touched the heart of many in an uneasy time. Virginia O'Hanlon said the editorial "shaped her life in a positive way" and she went on to earn a master's degree at Columbia and a doctorate at Fordham University. She retired as a schoolteacher in 1959.
As for me, I believe it's time for another editorial to lift the hearts of folks out there struggling to make sense of the Christmas season. How about "Yes Virginia, there is Jesus Christ"? He's the reason for the season.
Ken Byler is a Star Newspapers columnist, author and artist. Email him at Kbyler@tx.rr.com.
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