One hundred and eight years ago, Virginia O’Hanlon asked her father a simple question: “Is there a Santa Claus?”

Like a lot of contemporary fathers, Philip O’Hanlon did his best to answer her question without betraying the truth. Eventually he punted his parental responsibilities to the New York Sun when he suggested to his eight-year-old that she write the editor with her question. He calmly explained, “if you see it in the Sun, it’s so.”

On September 21, 1897 Francis P. Church wrote his famous reply in which he stated, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.”

Room for Mystery

My wife and I are Baby Boomers, and although we were raised four states and 700 miles apart, we were fortunate to have grown up in Christian homes. Our parents weren’t perfect people, mind you, but Christ was honored and revered.

Our homes also made room for the innocent mysteries of childhood, like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and the Boogey Man (I could have done without the latter, but it was a package deal). In time, we grew out of it. I told my wife the truth just last year and with the help of Dr. Phil, she seems none the worse.

When our youngest daughter was in grade school, she also asked her mother a harmless question: “Is the Easter Bunny real?”

Like Philip O’Hanlon, my wife punted the question—to me. What does a father say to his little girl when he’s committed to speaking the truth and letting a child be a child for as long as possible? After a pregnant pause, and at the risk of spoiling the last semblance of her formative years, I told her the truth.

We noticed no immediate difference in our child’s demeanor. Then her schoolteacher phoned to say that Abbie was spoiling the other children’s fantasies, and we ended up apologizing to a lot of parents.

Shortly thereafter, she asked if the Tooth Fairy was real. On the heels of his untimely demise she asked about Santa Claus, too. One by one, her make-believe friends were dispelled without tears.

Time for Truth

Then she asked a question that stopped me in my tracks: “Daddy, is Jesus real?” That question has haunted me over the years because, in my attempt to keep Abbie’s childhood intact, I inadvertently put Santa on the same level as Jesus.

Francis Church told Virginia that “the most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see.” Like Virginia, Abbie learned that Santa isn’t the only person who makes “glad the heart of childhood.”

The old apostle reminded his audience that we “know also the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true” (1 John 5:20). Jesus said that when we come to know the truth, the truth will “set us free” (John 8:32).

Knowing Jesus as the truth doesn’t spoil the wonder of Christmas—for children or adults. |L

Tony Thomas is a freelance writer in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

OUTLOOK is a forum for responsible Christian writers. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Standard Publishing or The Lookout.

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