In 1897, a letter was printed in the New York Sun, purportedly from a little girl named 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
First, you notice the letter is an obvious plant; what kid would call her mates "my little friends"? This is an adult perspective. Anyway, she was publicly answered in the traditional way adults respond to embarrassing questions from kids, with a series of judicious lies using abstract nouns: "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion – "
Supposing Virginia were to continue to question orthodoxy, and her doubts were to involve another mythical character from the Christmas season seen everywhere with no known original...