In 1897, the New York Sun, in its editorial responded to a young girl, named Virginia, who wrote a letter to the editor asking if there was a Santa Claus.
The paper’s answer, which has become part of Christmas folklore, as we all know, was ‘Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus.’ We will leave it to our readers to decide if they are right.
However, the one thing that can’t be debated is there is definitely is a Grinch.
Now we are not talking about someone who just doesn’t like the holidays and is a general grump during the entire Christmas season. Everyone’s family, or workplace includes one of them.
What we are talking about is someone who actually goes out of their way to actually knowingly destroy or steal a person’s Christmas, literally.
Unfortunately, in the Dec. 6 issue in the RCMP Report we published an account of someone who during a break and entry actually stole a person’s Christmas ornaments.
Earlier this week, we also heard from a reader, who lives in town, who had one of their Christmas lawn ornaments stolen.
While it is true that Christmas often brings out people’s best qualities the sad fact of life is it also brings out the worst.
There are people who take advantage of the season by taking the opportunity to break into vehicles stealing would be presents or break-in to people’s homes while they are away on vacation or attending a Christmas function.
The good news is that there are steps you can take to reduce the risk. At home, the RCMP remind us to lock all windows and doors in your home. If you plan to set up a Christmas tree, make sure it is not visible from outside. They also encourage people to refrain from putting gifts under your tree until Christmas Eve. Similar precautions can be made when going Christmas shopping, making sure no packages are visible when leaving them in your vehicle and making sure it is locked at all times.
But perhaps the most important thing to do is be a good neighbour and report any suspicious people or activity to the RCMP as soon as it happens.
If it is after regular hours Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. the Barrhead RCMP suggest calling 911. Instead of just leaving a message, which will only be checked when the office opens the next business day, dispatch will open a file and assign it to an officer.
Maybe if we take some of these suggestions people can write a Letter to the Editor asking if there really is a Grinch, and we can truthfully say no.
