The following conversation took place in December 1953:

Me:
Mommy, is there really a Santa?

Mom:
Why do you ask?

Me:
Cousin Frankie said he isn’t real.

Mom:
Well, Linda, there might not be a Santa who actually delivers presents down the chimney of every house in the Christian world, but he is the spirit of the holiday, embodying all that is good and hopeful and true.

Me:
Oh. Well, what about the Easter Bunny?

Mom:
Again, the Bunny may not really lay eggs and color them, then deliver them to Christian kiddies everywhere. But he embodies the spirit of the season, a joyfulness that love and kindness shall live on forever.

Me:
Oh. Well, what about the Tooth Fairy?

Mom:
The Fairy may not really flit all over the world, leaving coins for baby teeth, but it is a blithe, mythical spirit symbolizing the triumph of good over evil, enacted in many ways by various cultures.

Me:
Oh. Well, what about Jesus?

Mom:
Not so fast, little missy.