1897年,一名叫 Virginia O'Hanlon的小孩就心中的这一疑问给纽约太阳报写了一封信。对于这样一封信,太阳报的编辑Francis P. Church进行了诚恳的回复。从此,每当圣诞节来临之际,太阳报上总要刊登这个小孩Virginia O'Hanlon的来信及当时编辑Francis P. Church的回复
I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?
Signed Virginia O'Hanlon
The answer as published in the New York Sun was:
Virginia, your little friends are wrong.
They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except 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 ant, 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, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty 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 this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external 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 you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, 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, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.
No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
这不是一篇影评,这只是我和圣诞老人的故事。
6岁那年的12月25日早晨,我在床头发现了一张圣诞卡。 我问爸爸妈妈是谁送的,他们说是圣诞老人。 他们还告诉我,圣诞老人只送礼物给乖小孩。如果我很听爸爸妈妈的话,那圣诞老人明年还会给我送礼物。 在那以前,我也听说过圣诞老人,但我从来没想过他会送礼物给我。 所以我暗自下决心,一定要乖乖的,这样圣诞老人才会喜欢我。 我也有怀疑过圣诞老人的真实存在,我和父母之间有过很多关于圣诞老人的问答,如: —“圣诞老人一个晚上怎么去那么多地方送那么多礼物的?” “圣诞老人的雪橇飞得很快的!" —“圣诞老人怎么知道我想要什么礼物,他听得懂中文吗?” “当然啦,圣诞老人什么语言都会的!” —“我们家没有烟囱,圣诞老人是怎么爬下来的?” “他可以爬阳台嘛。” —“可是我们阳台有防盗网。” “所以他爬到阳台就把礼物转交给我们囖!” 因为父母的圆谎技术对于年幼的我来说实在太高超了,所以我渐渐对圣诞老人的存在深信不疑。 我也曾试图上床以后努力不让自己睡着,盯着窗外的天空看是不是会出现那麋鹿雪橇。最后当然都是以还没到午夜就睡得像猪那样结束。 我还和身边的小朋友分享过圣诞老人的秘密。他们有的人直截了当告诉我圣诞老人不存在,有的人将信将疑在平安夜把袜子放在床头把红胶袋挂在阳台,看是不是真的会有礼物。 结果当然是,他们都没有收到圣诞老人的礼物。 于是,他们说我骗人。 但是,我还是坚信圣诞老人是存在的,只是他们还不够乖。 妈妈和我说,这些小朋友们没有收到礼物,是因为他们不是真心实意地相信圣诞老人的存在。 每年12月25日,我都会很早起床。看看圣诞老人在我床头放了什么东西。 这样一直持续到我12岁。那年的圣诞节早晨,我的床头没有礼物。 过了几天,爸爸拿着一张我想要了很久的CD给我,说是圣诞老人转交给他的。还说圣诞老人很抱歉,没有及时给我送礼物。 其实那个时候,我已经知道,那些来自世界各国的巧克力是爸爸自己或者托朋友从国外买的,那些我想要了很久的娃娃是他和我妈旁敲侧击从我嘴里套出来的。而那张迟来的CD,只是因为我爸实在没有办法在圣诞节前去香港给我买,才滞后的。 虽然我和爸妈彼此都知道这个谎言已被揭穿,但我们还是一直保持着这个传统。每年圣诞节早晨,他们都会笑眯眯地问我:“圣诞老人今年又给你送什么了呀?” 我也会回答:“Exactly what I want!” 直到19岁那年我离家上大学… 爸爸和我说:“今年圣诞老人不会再给你送礼物了,因为你已经长大啦!” 我说:“嗯。我知道。” 后来,我才发现,爸妈在我离家后的几年里,会在圣诞节前买巧克力,送给一些亲朋好友的小孩们。 我想,我以后也会这样。 我也会和我的小孩说,这世界上真的有圣诞老人,只要你愿意相信。 Believing in Santa isn't something you prove, it's something you do. And he exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist. Merry Christmas.