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The Custom of Christmas Cards
By Mary Emma Allen
Christmas cards abound each year as friends wish one another holiday
cheer. These colorful greetings are displayed on tabletops,
mantlepieces, and sometimes strung around the room. They're often
collected and pasted in albums or used the following year for making
Christmas decorations.
But sending Christmas greetings in the form of a card is not a centuries
old custom. Actually the first real Christmas card supposedly appeared
in the 1840s.
First Christmas Card
Henry Cole, an Englishman, found himself pressed for time at Christmas.
So he wasn't able to send the personal Christmas letters (a tradition at
that time) to his friends. Thus he asked well-known artist J.C. Horsley
to design a Christmas message that could be printed up and mailed.
One source says that Mr. Horsley designed and sold more than 1,000
copies of that first card. Did Mr. Cole send so many cards himself, or
did Mr. Horsley interest others in buying and sending cards, too?
Design of the First Card
This first Christmas card apparently was constructed of stiff cardboard,
illustrated with a drawing of a family seated around the table eating
Christmas dinner. Then the side panels depicted poor Londoners receiving
food and clothing from the more well-to-do.
The card carried the message, "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to
You" as many cards do today.
Christmas Cards of Many Types
Louis Prang, a German immigrant, started printing commercially the first
Christmas cards in America in 1875. By 1881, Prang was printing five
million cards a year.
The smallest card ever made was perhaps the one sent to the Duke of
Windsor in 1929. A grain of rice was inscribed with Christmas greetings.
This inscription could be seen only through a magnifying glass.
Over the years, Christmas cards have come in all shapes and sizes and
were made from a variety of materials. Some early Christmas cards were
no larger than a postage stamp.
A Christmas Tradition That Continues
Sending Christmas cards is a tradition that isn't likely to die out even
though postage keeps increasing. When you include a personal note or
annual family letter you add something of yourself to the greeting.
In today's computer world, we're finding computer designed and generated
cards, as well as online greetings.
No matter how we send them, Christmas greetings bring people closer
together at this time of year.
(c)Mary Emma Allen
About the author
Mary Emma Allen writes children's stories as well as columns and
articles for newspapers and magazines. Her books include: "When We Become
the Parent of Our Parents," "Tales of Adventure & Discovery," "Writing in
Maine, New Hampshire & Vermont," "The Magic of Patchwork," and Writers'
Manuals. Visit her web site
or email her at me.allen@juno.com
SeptemberLady "Born and have lived in Southern MD most of my life. My husband and I just finished building a new home on the family farm, where I hope to retire in the near future.
My interests: Doll collecting, cookbook collector (especially old ones), antiques, family/friend get-togethers, cooking/baking, flower and vegetable gardening, bird-watching."
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Memorial Day: Backyard Grilling
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The Perfect Porch Swing