Christmas Special ‘Yes, Virginia’ premiered on CBS.

Christmas Special animated ‘Yes, Virginia’ was premiered on CBS on December 11. The animated television special ‘Yes, Virginia’ featured the voices of Neil Patrick Harris of How I Met Your Mother and Jennifer Love Hewitt of Ghost Whisperer. The television special was a new version of 1974’s Christmas special which was also an animated story. The 1974 version became very well known and even won a primetime Emmy Award. Both the animated productions based on the famous story of an 8-year-old girl Virginia. The following paragraphs detail the story of the little girl and the background of the famous Christmas tradition ‘Yes, Virginia, there’s a Santa Clause’.

‘Yes, Virginia, there’s a Santa Clause,’ is the answer of a writer who wrote an editorial to answer the question of little girl named Virginia. Virginia O’Hanlon was the 8-years-old daughter of Dr. Philip O’Hanlon. Virginia had doubts about the existence of Santa Clause as her friends used to tell her that there was no Santa. She began inquiring her father about Santa and asked him if there was really a Santa Clause. His father suggested her to write a letter to New York Sun, that time’s well-known newspaper. So, Virginia sent a letter to the newspaper.

One of the editors of the newspaper, Francis Pharcellus Church, wrote an answer to Virginia’s letter in an editorial in which he told her the philosophy behind the existence of Santa. The editorial published in September of 1897 and Church told the little girl that yes, Santa exists. The famous line of his editorial, ‘Yes, Virginia, there’s a Santa Clause’ has become a Christmas tradition since then. Virginia O’Hanlon received a series of mail about her letters throughout her life and she always answered them with copy of that editorial. Later, in interview she said that those words guided her throughout her life and helped her a great deal in shaping her life.

There are several references to the famous. Virginia’s letter and the editorial are read at every Christmas at Francis Church’s alma meter, the Columbia College of Columbia university. The story was adapted in two television special and the newest one titled ‘Yes, Virginia’ has been aired on CBS. The Dresden Dolls named their second album ‘Yes, Virginia…’ and the several references in different TV and film productions have been made to the story.

Yes Virginia