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In 1897, a young girl wrote to The Sun, a New York City newspaper, asking whether Santa Claus was real. To the delight of readers (and to the eternal gratitude of seasonally frazzled editorial writers), Frank Church, a writer and editor for the paper, penned what became a holiday classic — and a tradition for us to reprint on Christmas Day.

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

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DEAR EDITOR: 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,........

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