Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus

Virginia O’Hanlon. (Photo courtesy of her grandson, Jim Temple.)

In 1897, on the advice of her father, eight-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon wrote a short, inquisitive letter to the editor of New York’s since-defunct newspaper, The Sun, in which she sought confirmation of Santa Claus’ existence. The paper’s editor, Francis P. Church, soon replied to Virginia…