Have you ever heard of the movie Prancer? In this special Christmas-themed episode, Aaron takes us back to a spontaneous, late-night recording on Christmas Eve, inspired by the classic film and the timeless letter to Virginia O'Hanlon. Listen as Aaron reflects on the magic of the holidays, shares heartfelt insights, and recites one of the most moving pieces ever written about Santa Claus.
We’re creating bonus 7MS-themed content delivered to your inbox, but only exclusively for 7MS listeners who sign up for our quarterly newsletter. Join the waitlist!
https://www.7minutestoriespod.com/newsletter
Dive deeper into the 7MS Universe and connect with Aaron on...
Listen Free: | Apple Podcasts | Pandora | Spotify |
Story created & performed by: Aaron Calafato
Senior Audio Engineer: Ken Wendt
Additional vocals: Cori Birce
Art: Pete Whitehead
Original Music: thomas j. duke
TRANSCRIPT
Aaron Calafato:
Have you ever heard of the movie Prancer? Listen, I may have laughed out of insecurity. Don't you laugh at that movie. I'm going to talk about why this is a classic. I'm also going to tell you how this inspired what you're about to hear in the rest of this episode. But we gotta go back to last Christmas Eve.
I went rogue, okay? I grabbed the microphone. I didn't tell the 7MS team. I think Cori was sleeping. Ken didn't know about it. There was no illustration from Pete. It was just me at, like, midnight on Christmas Eve, getting on the microphone, inspired. Me on Christmas Eve is like Jimmy Stewart running at the height of his excitement through Bedford Falls.
"Merry Christmas, Bedford Falls! I want to live again. I want to live again." I mean, I'm out of my mind. And actually, there's gonna be a bonus episode coming out on our Sunday Leftovers, where I talk about why it's a good thing for me that Christmas, at times, is very sad. Okay, I'm going to pause there, and we're going to get to that in a future episode coming up soon.
But going back to what you're about to hear, it was inspired by the movie Prancer. Last year, I got on the mic and recited this response to Virginia O'Hanlon. This famous response from an editor to this girl who wrote into a paper. You'll hear the context here in a few seconds, right after we transition.
My point is, the way I heard about this, and I didn’t get a chance to mention it last year, was from watching the movie Prancer. Now, Prancer is rising in my top—I'm gonna be honest—it's in the top five Christmas movies of all time. Watch it. Whatever you're doing, watch it. Find it on Prime, get it on VHS. I don't know what you do.
It has an essence, and maybe it's because I'm an elder millennial. It has this quality of the eighties and nineties and the Midwest. There's something about it. And Sam Elliott plays the struggling father, going through grief. He has this daughter who's very rambunctious, smart, and independent, and they're butting heads. And there's this magical reindeer—Prancer. That’s the whole thing.
My point is, there's this thing her mom used to read to her. Her mom has since passed, and it was this excerpt from the response to Virginia O'Hanlon that was made famous. At some point during the movie, Sam Elliott, in the way that only Sam Elliott can, reads this to his daughter.
And you ask my wife—every single time I listen to this thing, I'm in tears. I can't. I'm in the fetal position. The way he does it, it's incredible. So that's what inspired me to look into it, to look into its history. And you're about to hear me not do my best Sam Elliott impression. I'm just doing my best Aaron Calafato impression.
And so, I recite that same letter. And it's beautifully spiced with the Christmas spirit, magic, and wonder. I think it kicks us off to a great next three weeks, where we’re going to have Christmas-themed episodes coming your way. That’s just how we do it. So, please enjoy the rest of this episode.
And if you haven’t been celebrating the holidays like me since November 1st, please enjoy the continuation of the holiday season, and I’ll talk to you soon.
I don’t know if Ken knows I’m doing this episode. I don’t think anybody on the 7MS team does. My audio levels might be off, but you may need to lean in for this one. I don’t think this is even going to make it to the seven-minute mark, but I had to talk with you because what I’m about to read to you is one of my favorite things ever written about Santa Claus.
It was originally written by Francis P. Church and published on September 21st, 1897. What Francis P. Church wrote was a response to a little eight-year-old girl named Virginia O'Hanlon, who wrote to the editor and wanted to ask some questions about the truth and mystery regarding Santa Claus because some of her friends were really giving her a hard time.
And the way the editor responds and what he writes really creates the definitive answer to this question. He goes on:
“Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe in anything except if they can see it. Virginia, in this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist. How dreary would the world be if there were no Santa Claus? I'll tell you. It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias.
There would be no childlike faith then to make tolerable this existence. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished. Nobody sees Santa Claus. But that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus.
Virginia, the most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men nor women can see. What do I mean? You tear apart the baby's rattle, and you see what makes the noise inside. But there is a veil covering the unseen world, which not even the strongest man or woman could tear apart.
Only faith, poetry, love, and romance can push aside that curtain and view the supernatural beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Oh, 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, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.”
We have a few minutes left. Let’s finish up with some music—a familiar holiday classic. Merry Christmas Eve, Merry Christmas, and I’ll talk to you soon.
