Published in the December 24, 2014 – January 6, 2014 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Marty Cheek
Marty Cheek
A journalism pet peeve of mine is an annual tradition some newspapers have of running on their editorial pages in their issue right before Christmas the old chestnut column titled “Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus.” The editorial first appeared in the Sept. 21, 1897, edition of The New York Sun and has become part of popular Christmas folklore in America.
Why do some editors every holiday season incessantly choose to run the most famous — and certainly most obnoxiously syrupy — newspaper editorial of all time, one that practically everyone has read or seen performed on TV? They will most likely say that the sentiments expressed by the Sun’s editor Francis Pharcellus Church’s in his reply to 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon’s letter asking “Is there a Santa Claus?” are full of 19-century philosophical airings of the faith, fancy, poetry, love and romance of childhood innocence. Get that same modern-day editor to drink down a couple of pints at his local tavern (not a hard endeavor) and he’ll more honestly tell you he publishes “Yes, Virginia” every year out of sheer laziness. He doesn’t want to take the time writing a fresh editorial for his yuletide edition readers when he could be downing a few cocktails.
If O’Hanlon might inquire of me as the publisher of Morgan Hill Life about the existence of Santa Claus here in Morgan Hill, I would reply as follows (and certainly get on the big guy’s naughty list):
Dear Virginia, the winter festive season is a time crammed full of traditions, and we have our special share of them here in Morgan Hill. Among the most favorite ways for many families to start off their seasonal celebration is by lining up on the sidewalks of downtown Morgan Hill and watching the annual holiday parade organized by our local Kiwanis Club. At the close of the parade, “Santa Claus” rides in Boy Scout Troop 799’s Magic Ship of Christmas and joins with the Morgan Hill mayor to light the city’s tree at the Community Center. It’s a special moment when local families stand in front of the glittering lights of the tree and get their photos snapped for Christmas cards to be sent to friends later.
Entertainment geared for the holidays is also a tradition in Morgan Hill region, Virginia. The folks at the Granada Theater have recently started what I hope might become a fun annual tradition of featuring holiday movies for families. Among them is “The Polar Express” where children take a yuletide train ride to discover the jolly old elf’s secret Arctic factory which manufactures (through the non-unionized labor of elves) toys that the big guy then distributes on Christmas Eve. The Granada also has started a tradition of showing the hilariously offbeat space adventure “Santa Claus versus The Martians,” which, Virginia, will totally alter your mind about your heavy-set holiday hero.
Live theatrical performances at the Community Playhouse, Virginia, are another winter way for the people of Morgan Hill to get into a mirthful mood. A few years ago, the South Valley Civic Theatre put on a performance of the play “Miracle on 34th Street” where a young girl about your own age questions the reality of Santa. The South Valley Symphony also has a tradition of infusing holiday songs into its annual Winter Concert, entertaining youngsters of all ages.
My own personal Christmas time traditions, Virginia, include watching on chill nights on my flat-screen TV various holiday-themed movies. Among them are the classic Frank Capra film “It’s a Wonderful Life,” which always brings a tear as Jimmy Stewart’s George Bailey discovers with the help of a bumbling angel that his life does have value. I’m also a fan of the more recent romantic comedy film “Love Actually” which tells the love stories of various Londoners — including a hilariously geeky-cool Hugh Grant as the British Prime Minister — during the six weeks leading up to Christmas Eve.
On a side note, Virginia, one of my favorite holiday traditions is every year watching the 1969 James Bond film “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” in which 007, played by George Lazenby, spends the Christmas season with a bevy of sexy women and a bald Blofeld in the supervillain’s alpine lair. When people tell me this is an odd choice as a favorite holiday film, I tell them, “Hey, Jesus’s mission is to save the world – and so is James Bond’s.”
Most certainly, Virginia, you’ll never see in the editorial page of Morgan Hill Life the famous saccharine sweet reply to your child’s letter to the Sun newspaper inquiring of Mr. Church the existence of a certain obese man in a red suit with a North Pole address. But I encourage you to inquire on the existence of a certain “Man of Steel” who lives in a Fortress of Solitude at the same Arctic location. I have a reporter friend at The Daily Planet in Metropolis I might ask to write that editorial reply to you.
