Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus

editorial appearing in the September 21, 1897, edition of The (New York) Sun

"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" is the reply The New York Sun editor Francis Pharcellus Church gave eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon (1889–1971) in his September 21, 1897 editorial after she wrote the newspaper asking "Is There a Santa Claus?" Virginia had first asked the question of her father, Dr. Philip O'Hanlon, who suggested she write The Sun. He assured her that "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." The editorial is one of the most reprinted editorials in the world.[1]

Original article in The New York Sun
  1. Campbell, W. Joseph (Spring 2005). "The grudging emergence of American journalism's classic editorial: New details about 'Is There A Santa Claus?'". American Journalism Review. 22 (2). University of Maryland, College Park: Philip Merrill College of Journalism. Retrieved 2007-10-29.