Santa Claus

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 Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except what 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.

Young Chang Little kids play eye tag with John Matthews even on sweltering summer days. They give him the once over and hold a steady glance as if wondering why the 70-year-old man in street clothes reminds them of someone magical. It's the beard, Matthews says. The natural cloud of long, white curls that puffs down to his upper chest and begins above his mouth with a handlebar mustache. The sharp ones don't need a red suit to remember Santa Claus in the summer.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This holiday editorial first ran in 1897 in the New York Sun. The letter to the editor was from Virginia O’Hanlon. The author of the reply was veteran Sun editor Francis Church. The piece was reprinted annually until the Sun went out of business, in 1949. We’ve decided to keep that tradition going at the Daily Pilot. “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?

Jennifer Kho COSTA MESA -- With rosy cheeks and snowy beards, four men in red and white costumes sat on a couch Thursday arguing their authenticity. "We're Santa Claus and three of his helpers," one Santa said. "Who the real one is depends on who you ask. I know I'm the real Santa, but each of us believes we are Santa and the others are helpers. The real Santa has got to have helpers because there are a lot of children." The Santas -- who denied having "real names" -- each had evidence to prove they were the real St. Nick.

A surf-themed benefit for the Children?s Hospital of Orange County takes place Nov. 3. The fundraiser will begin at 6 p.m. in the Harborside Restaurant and Grand Ballroom at the Balboa Pavilion, 400 Main St., Balboa. The second annual ?Rock for CHOC? event will begin with a cocktail reception and buffet dinner, followed by the sounds of HONK, a local rock ?n? roll band from the ?70s featured in the surf movie ?Five Summer Stories,? and the Jeffrey John Band. Santa Claus will make an appearance, and guests will have an opportunity to bid on items in a silent auction.

I don't know. I just can't decide. You've seen the inflatable Christmas decorations of course. I can't decide if I like them or not. Do you? They popped up here and there over the last year or two, but this year, they're everywhere — roofs, lawns, everywhere. Most of them are inflatable snow globes. I like that part. In fact, I've been a sucker for snow globes as long as I can remember. You see the clever little scene inside; you shake it; it snows. It's perfect. The part I don't like about the inflatables is that they're too easy.

Climbing onto Santa’s lap Saturday morning at South Coast Plaza, the only thing 9-year-old Viviana Flores could think to ask for was a new book. “Santa can pick one out for me, I don’t care which one,” Flores said, a fourth-grader at Davis Elementary School in Costa Mesa, as she clutched a red shopping bag almost as large as she was. The bag was full of gifts from the Costa Mesa-based nonprofit organization the Happiness Project. Flores was one on about 250 children who got to meet Santa Claus, ride the carousel at South Coast Plaza and grab a bag full of toys, clothes and shoes Saturday as part of the Happiness Project’s Gifts of Love event.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This classic holiday editorial first ran in 1897 in the New York Sun. The letter to the editor was from a young girl named Virginia O'Hanlon. The author of the reply was veteran Sun editor Francis Church. The piece was reprinted annually until the paper went out of business in 1949. We've decided to keep that tradition going here at the Daily Pilot. 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."

Santa Claus celebrates his 60th birthday in our household this holiday season. I speak not of Father Christmas, who's more like 400 years old and dates back to 17th century Britain, or St. Nick, who was birthed in New York some time in the 19th century. I'm talking about a little 6-inch-tall, cotton-ball Santa who joined my family in December 1951. He's been perched atop the loftiest branches of our Christmas tree - next to the angel - every year since. That's 61 Christmases this year.

NEWPORT BEACH - It's an unlikely place to find something out of a science-fiction novel. Next to the Balboa Boat Yard, where hulky trawlers are hauled out for repairs and rusted containers are stacked high above corrugated metal gates, is a yacht brokerage selling a new product: a water-powered jet pack. Employees of Jetlev Southwest, the company that sells and rents the packs, will take turns dressed as Santa Claus and fly - sans reindeer - alongside boats at the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade this Wednesday through Sunday.

CORONA DEL MAR — The 33rd annual Corona del Mar Christmas Walk drew thousands of people Sunday, including animal-rights activists, stilt-walkers and Santa Claus. The walk began and 11 a.m. and stretched along East Coast Highway throughout the village. Many business owners gave away free samples, including sandwich bites, cotton candy, naan bread and mimosas. Bands and choirs performed, including Pinch Me! near the beer and wine garden along Bayside Drive, and the Harbor View chorus in the Wells Fargo lot near Orchid Avenue.

COSTA MESA - It will be a Charlie Brown Christmas after all. Though Jim Jordan's foreclosed home at 2269 Santa Ana Ave. now belongs to Wells Fargo, the plywood psychiatry booth, character cutouts, Santa Claus stage in the backyard and other "Peanuts" features that entertained the community for decades, still belong to him. Over the weekend, Jordan worked out a deal with city CEO Tom Hatch to take the "Snoopy House" display to City Hall....

The woman known to many area residents as "Mrs. Santa Claus" has died. Jean Mallow Boyd, a longtime Corona del Mar resident, was 87. For years during the holidays, she flew in an AirBorne Law Enforcement helicopter to Newport-Mesa Unified elementary schools. Dressed as Kris Kringle's wife, Boyd would greet children and deliver candy. Her petite stature — she was 4-feet-6 — made her an ideal Mrs. Claus, said niece Carol Jean Wilson, who lives in Michigan. "She was a neat lady — a little tiny thing," Wilson said.

COSTA MESA — The Grinch doesn't stand a chance against this Santa Claus, a Harley-riding veteran. Bob Torres, 69, who served in the Marines the 1960s and '70s, has been one of St. Nick's jolly red-cloaked helpers for 26 years. He has nine consecutive seasons, including this one, under his ample belt as one of South Coast Plaza's two Santas. In all those years, Torres, whose twinkling eyes are surrounded by all-natural white brows and a full beard, has been privy to thousands of surprising secrets.

TODAY Shabbat Service Cantor Jonathan Grant shares recent experiences as part of a Cantorial Concert at the Vatican during the 6 p.m. Shabbat Service at Temple Bat Yahm, 1011 Camelback St., Newport Beach. The service will be led by Rabbi Mark S. Miller, Rabbi Gersh Zylberman and Cantor Grant, and will be followed by an Oneg Shabbat. Guests are welcome. For more information, please call (949) 644-1999 or visit http://www.tby.org. Lemondrop Dance Club Newport Beach-based Lemon Drop Club, which hosts singles parties in Orange County geared for adults around the age of 40 and older, will have its Christmas Eve singles party from 7 to midnight at the Hilton OC Airport Hotel, 18800 MacArthur Blvd.