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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1985-12-04, Page 73Yes, Virginia, there really is a Santa One of the most famous newspaper editorials of all time has to do with Christmas. It first appeared September 21, 1897, in the pages of a leading newspaper of the day, the New York Sun. Virginia O'HanlOn, eight years old, was torn between the doubts placed in her mind by playmates and her ownsincere belief that each Christmas a jolly old man came to help spread joy through the world. To settle the matter, she posed the question to the editor of the Sun. Francis Pharcellus Church replied as follows: "Is there a Sesta Claus? "We take pleasure in answering at once and 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: "Dear Editor: "I am eight years old. Some of my little friends say, there is no Santa Claus. Papa says "If you see it in tir Sun, it's so." Please ' tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus? , Virginia 011anion,115 West 94h Street. "Virginia, your little friends are. wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe ex- cept 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 apt, 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, axed you know that they abound andgive to your Welts highest beau- ty 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 their existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal 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 they did not see Santa Claus corning down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus. The most real A WELCOME AND APPRECIATED GIFT THAT WILL PLEASE ANYONE 6,1 dtiiW,nas MR & MRS JOHN DOE THIS GIFT CERTIFICATE. WHEN PRESENTED AT ANY ZEHRS MARKET. M C. AND ENDORSED BY THE RECEIPIEN f, WILL BE REDEEMED FOR: s P. MERCHANDISE TO THE VALUE OF, XXX DOLLARS THE ABC COMPANY LIMITED Reupiont's Signature FOR FRIENDS,RELATIVES,NEIGHBOURS,EMPLOYEES A GREAT WAY TO SAY "THANK YOU" AVAILABLE IN ANY DENOMINATION. ASH OUR MANAGER fOR DETAILS OR PHONE ZEHRMART 519 653.8200 Christen . lit Guide—;Page 23 things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see Did you ever see. fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course net, 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 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, not even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside the curtain and view and picture the supernatural beau, ty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there Ls nothing else more real and abiding. "No Santa Claus! Thank God he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood." A little quiz for Yuletide A little Yuletide quiz: Which of the follow- ing would you expect to find on a Christmas tree? 1. Heavy metal chains (the kind punks wear to concerts). /2. Plastic tubes (the kind some hospital patients simply can't live without - literal- ly) 3. Plastic cocktail glasses (the kind Alcoholics Anonymous put cocktail peanuts in). 4. A partridge (the sort foundin a pear tree). .. 5. All of the above. The answer, as un -Santa and unsleigh bells as it might be, is No.5 - All of the above. Christmas trees aren't - and are - what they used to be. Traditional trees festooned with ribbons and bows, gingerbread people, lace, dried and fresh flowers, bundles of pot- pourri, angels and other things nostalgic are the majority. But there are other decorations that take a decidedly avant-garde approach to the season of mistletoe and holly. Entries in a collegiate design -a -tree contest give the non -conformist several ideas for trimming his tree. One tree built around a hardware store theme was decorated with non -edible candy canes. The decorations were four -inch aluminum plumbing sleeves wrapped with red glitter -covered pipe cleaners with pipe cleaner hooks at the top. Clear intravenous tubes were stuffed with the red glitter pipe cleaners and spiraled over the tips of the branches. A new -wave theme tree was spray - painted black then decorated with bluish - silver chains and geometric, three- dimensional ornaments. Clear plastic drink cups and an oven were the basic ingredients of another tree. To make the decorations, preheat an oven to 400 F, line cookie sheets with foil, then place the plastic cups right side up on the sheets. Tuck coloredplastic beads in the centers of the bottoms of the cups, then pop them into the oven for two minutes. The cups will melt and collapse on themselves creating crinkled shiny decora- tions with colored -bead centers. When the ornaments come 'out of the oven, punch a hole in each -with a heated nail and tie %yith ribbon for hanging. The plastic cups book very much like expensive crystal oranaments. The 12 days of Christmas was the theme, and gold and white the color scheme of the tree decorated with plastic calling birds, white ceramic geese, foam swans trimmed in gold, ladies dancing, maids -a -milking and lords -a -leaping. The tree was finished with white ribbon bows.