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From 
41 KENSINGTON
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From
41 KENSINGTON
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LITTLE SOULIN THROUGH THE YEARS
5 Months |
17 Months |
2 1/2 Years |
3 1/2 Years |
4 1/2 Years |
5 1/2 Years |
6 1/2 Years |
7 1/2 Years |
8 1/2 Years |
9 1/2 Years |
. .
Kensington City Home |
Maple Grove Country Home |
Sue-On's
Annual Hillman Log-In 2007
Winter
Solstice Celebrations
A
Science Fiction Christmas
A
Magic Christmas
A
VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS II
Page
2 of the StereoView Collection
A
VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS III
Page
3 of the StereoView Collection
101
SOUNDS OF CHRISTMAS
A montage
of classic Christmas album covers
TALES
FROM THE CRYPT
An archive
of Sue-On's Christmas newsletters from years past:
ONLINE XMAS CARDS
Atticus,
our Great White Pyrenees Memorium
Rocking
Horse
Snowdog
One
from Santa
From
the Bears
The
Reindeer Chorus
Holiday
Cheer from Santa & Reindeer
Night Before
Christmas
A
Christmas Story in 30 Seconds
The Emissary
(click
on the lights to turn pages)
Misheard
Lyrics to Christmas Songs
|
Yes, Virginia . . .
 |
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. Is there a Santa Claus?
Virginia O'Hanlon
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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 of grasping the whole of truth and knowledgeYes, 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 eternal 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 they 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, not even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, 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 he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
-- Editorial page of the New York Sun, September 21, 1897
 
Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll . |
Listen |
Patty Marie Ellis (Arbadella) and Alvin Childress (Amos) recreated "The Lord's Prayer" on television in 1951. |
Amos'
recitation of "The Lord's Prayer" became an American institution,
introduced
in 1940 and broadcast annually on radio through 1954.
Here
is an excerpt from the script of traditional the Amos ‘n’ Andy
Christmas
radio show when Freeman Gosden, enacting the role of Amos,
lovingly
explained the Lord’s Prayer to his daughter, Arbadella.
It was
Christmas Eve and Arbadella had requested the radio be
turned
on and was asking questions before going to bed.
Hear
the entire show HERE
Amos
'n' Andy Xmas Show
* * * * * Announcer: The Christmas Choir continues with the Lord’s Prayer.
Arbadella: Daddy, could you get some Christmas music on the radio?
Amos: Why, darling, this is the very best Christmas music you could get. They’re going to sing the Lord’s Prayer.
Arbadella: Oh, I can say the Lord’s Prayer with Mommy. She’s been teaching it to me.
Amos: Yes, I know.
Arbadella: What does the Lord’s Prayer mean, Daddy?
Amos: Well, it means an awful lot and with the world like it is today, it seems to have a bigger meaning than ever before.
Arbadella: But, what does the Lord’s Prayer really mean, Daddy?
Amos: The Lord’s Prayer...well, darling, I’ll explain it to you.
Arbadella: Oh, will you, Daddy?Amos: Yeah. Now, you lay down and you listen. Now, the first line of the Lord’s Prayer is this...
Our Father which art in Heaven...
now, that means father of all that is good where no wrong can ever dwell. And then it says...
Hallowed be thy name.
Now, that means, darling, that we should love and respect all that is good. And then it says after that...
Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven....
and that means, darling, as we clean our hearts of all hate and selfishness and fill our hearts with the love, the good, the true and the beautiful, then earth where we are now will be just like Heaven.Arbadella: That would be wonderful, Daddy.
Amos: Then it says...
Give us this day our daily bread.
Now, that means to feed our hearts and minds with kindness, with love and with courage, which will make us strong for our daily tasks. And then, after that, the next line of the Lord’s Prayer is...
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
Do you remember the Golden Rule?Arbadella: Yes, Daddy.
Amos: Well, that means that we must keep the Golden Rule and do unto others as we would want them to do unto us. And then it says...
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Now, that means, my darling, to ask God to help us do and to see and to think right so that we will neither be led or
tempted by anything that is bad.
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen.
That means, darling, that all the world and everything in it belongs to God’s kingdom...everything...your mommy, your daddy, your little brother, your sister, your grandma, you and everybody. And, as we know that and act as if we know it, that, my darling daughter, is the real spirit of Christmas.Arbadella: That’s good, Daddy.
And, so it was...
Columbia
Workshop: The Plot to Overthrow Christmas ~ Dec. 25, 1938
Fibber
McGee and Molly: Christmas Show ~ December 18, 1945
The
Great Gildersleeve: Christmas Show ~ December 19, 1943
Suspense:
The House In Cypress Canyon ~ December 5, 1946
Archie
Andrews: Christmas Shopping ~ December 13, 1947
It's
A Wonderful Life Script
A
Christmas Carol Script
The_Life_and_Adventures_of_Santa_Claus
by L. Frank Baum
Amos 'n'
Andy Xmas Show
Read Sue-On's Annual Xmas Newsletters
Star
Trails Above Mauna Kea (NASA) click
THE HILLMAN CHRISTMAS AND WINTER SOLSTICE SITES
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for a ride back to the
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