Christmas 2025: YES VIRGINIA, THERE IS A SANTA CLAUS — AND WHY CHRISTMAS ASKS US TO BELIEVE

More than a century ago, a little girl named Virginia O’Hanlon wrote a letter that has refused to fade with time. She did not write as a philosopher or a theologian. She wrote as a child — honest, curious, and unafraid to ask what adults often dodge. “Is there a Santa Claus?” Her question reached the desk of an editor at The New York Sun, and his reply became immortal—the most famous editorial of all time: “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.”

The answer was never really about reindeer or red suits. It was about whether the world is only as large as what we can touch.

That same question stands at the center of one of the finest Christmas films I have seen, Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus (1991) starring Charles Bronson. Bronson plays a seasoned journalist struggling with alcoholism and the death of his wife and child — skeptical, hardened, trained to trust ink, evidence, and proof alone.

He is assigned to answer the little girl’s letter, “Is there a Santa Claus?” and one would think he might expose sentimentality. Instead, he finds himself unsettled by something deeper. The film treats belief seriously, not playfully. Santa becomes a symbol — not of fantasy, but of unseen virtues that hold civilization together: generosity, self-giving, moral responsibility. It is a very heartwarming film.

And yet, the movie never confuses the symbol with reality.

Santa Claus belongs to Christmas tradition. He teaches kindness. He invites wonder. He reminds us that giving is better than receiving. But Santa is not the foundation — he is the illustration. He points beyond himself.

Jesus Christ is something altogether different.

Santa represents what we hope people might be. Christ reveals who God actually is.

The birth of Jesus does not rest on symbolism or sentiment. It is rooted in history — a real child, born in a real place, under a real empire, at a particular moment in time. No sleigh, no myth, no metaphor. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Christmas is not an idea we preserve; it is an event we receive.

Still, belief is required — not because Christ is imaginary, but because God refuses to coerce the heart. Jesus arrived quietly. Shepherds believed a message they could not prove. Wise men followed a star they could not explain. Mary trusted a promise she could not control. Faith came before understanding. “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Virginia’s letter endures because it exposes the poverty of a world that believes only what it can dissect. The editorial argued that Santa exists wherever love and generosity exist.

The Gospel goes further: love exists because God exists. “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Remove belief in God, and love itself becomes an accident. Believe in God, and love becomes a calling.

Santa may fade with age. Christ does not.

Santa passes through the imagination for a season. Christ steps into a life and stays. One teaches children to be kind. The other teaches sinners to be redeemed. One belongs to Christmas morning. The other belongs to eternity.

So yes, Virginia — there is a Santa Claus. He reminds us that goodness is worth believing in. But Christmas does not end with Santa. It begins and ends with Jesus — the unseen God made visible, the eternal Word made flesh, the Love that does not vanish when the decorations come down.

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Lord Jesus, Thank You for the joy of Christmas and the symbols that point us toward goodness. But anchor our hearts in You — not in sentiment, but in truth; not in myth, but in Your living presence. Teach us to believe rightly, love deeply, and follow You faithfully. Amen.

BDD