Christmas Letter — YouTube from the CEC Library

I received a message from a little girl who said: "Dear editor, I am eight years old. Some of my little friends say that Santa Claus does not exist. My father says that if it is in The Sun, it is true. Please tell me the truth: Does Santa Claus exist?" Virginia, your little friends are mistaken. They have been influenced by the skepticism of an age that believes only in what can be seen. They think that nothing can exist beyond what their minds can understand. All minds, Virginia, whether those of adults or children, are limited.

In this vast universe, the human being is intellectually like a mere insect, an ant, compared with the infinite world surrounding it—and compared with the intelligence capable of understanding truth and absorbing knowledge in its entirety. Yes, Virginia, Santa Claus exists. He exists just as love, generosity, and devotion exist, and you know that they exist in abundance, filling your life with beauty and joy. Oh, how sad the world would be if Santa Claus did not exist. It would be as sad as if there were no Virginias, for there would be no faith, no poetry, and no dreams to make life bearable. There would only be pleasure in the rational and the visible, and the eternal light with which childhood illuminates the world would go out.