If Virginia O'Hanlon had asked Fidel Castro about Santa Claus

I am 8 years old. Some of my friends say there IS a Santa Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in the Communist Party paper Granma, it’s so.” Please tell me the truth, El Presidente. Is there a Santa Claus?

— Virginia O’Hanlon

Dear Virginia:

Your little friends are wrong. Of course there is no Santa Claus. Did your papa not tell you that I banned all likenesses of Santa, a symbol of Yankee capitalist greed, in 1959?

Did your papa not read the 1959 Time article that explained how I required all Christmas decorations to be made of Cuban materials, with traditional Cuban scenes �...