Exciting story of the Xmas card

Lionel WIJESIRI

By now, you may have already begun to complain about having to sit down and write out Christmas cards, but within your heart you know that Christmas just wouldn't be the same without them. Christmas cards typically end up as part of the Christmas décor, and add a personal flair to a major Christmas gift.

Today Christmas cards can be purchased in bulk in nearly any conceivable style. Everything from humorous and sincere to boisterous and romantic, Christmas cards are the perfect avenue of telling those you care for that you are thinking of them during the holiday season.

Just like all other holiday traditions, the Christmas card tradition had to start somewhere sometime in the history. Do you have any idea?

Beginning

There are many contenders for the title of the world's first Christmas card but it is generally accepted that the first one was created in 1843 in England. It was commissioned by Sir Henry Cole, who later became the first Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum. He asked John Calcott Horsley, a member of the Royal Academy, to design a card for him to send to his friends.

The card was lithographically printed by Jobbins of Warwick Court, Holborn, and each copy was hand-coloured by a professional artist named William Mason. Lithography printed cards had been around since the late 1700's, a form of printing that involved creating the fine detail on stone and then transferring it to paper, much like a stamp. The card was issued from an art shop run by Joseph Cundall, a friend of Cole. Cundall believed about 2050 copies would have been sold. The cards were expensive items in those days, costing one shilling each, so Cole must have intended to make something of this business opportunity, rather than simply spend time on writing Christmas messages to his friends.

Cole's card wished the recipient 'A merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you'. It featured a family of three generations partaking of good cheer (even the children) and toasting the absent friend - the recipient. On either side were allegorical vignettes of charitable acts, showing 'Clothing the Naked' and 'Feeding the Hungry'. The puritans immediately denounced the card for its use of alcohol. Others found it to be remarkably creative and a useful holiday greeting. And so, the Christmas card was born.

Although it could not compete with the speed of email today, the 1800's nevertheless experienced a revolution in communication that played an important role in creating the tradition of the Christmas greeting card. Helped by the new railway system, the public postal service made corresponding a popular past time. In England, people recognized the advantage of a more efficient mail service and initiated the practice of sending Christmas greeting cards to friends Wooden engravings had been somewhat popular prior to the introduction of the Christmas card, although they were expensive and time consuming

Types of cards

Christmas cards represent warm wishes and thoughts of peace towards those we know and care for. While some people don't see the reasoning behind the Christmas card tradition, most believe that Christmas cards are a way of being inclusive to those whom we miss over the holidays. Christmas cards are usually exchanged during the weeks before Christmas Day by many people (including non-Christians) in Western society and in Asia. The traditional greeting (as was in the first card itself) reads "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year".

There are innumerable variations on this greeting, many cards expressing more religious sentiment, or containing a poem, prayer or Biblical verse; others stay away from religion with an all-inclusive "Season's greetings". The content of the design might relate directly to the Christmas narrative with depictions of the Nativity of Jesus, or have Christian symbols such as the Star of Bethlehem or a white dove representing both the Holy Spirit and Peace.

Many Christmas cards are secular and show Christmas traditions such as Santa Claus, objects associated with Christmas such as candles, holly and baubles, and Christmastime activities such as shopping and partying, or other aspects of the season such as the snow and wildlife of the northern winter.

Some secular cards depict nostalgic scenes of the past such as shoppers in 19th century streetscapes; others are humorous, particularly in depicting the antics of Santa and his retinue. Early English cards rarely showed winter or religious themes, instead favouring flowers, fairies and other fanciful designs that reminded the recipient of the approach of spring. Humorous and sentimental images of children and animals were popular, as were increasingly elaborate shapes, decorations and materials.

The production of Christmas cards was, throughout the 20th century, a profitable business for many stationery manufacturers, with the design of cards continually evolving with changing tastes and printing techniques.

The World Wars brought cards with patriotic themes. Idiosyncratic "studio cards" with cartoon illustrations and sometimes humour caught on in the 1950s. Nostalgic, sentimental, and religious images have continued in popularity, and, in the 21st century, reproductions of Victorian and Edwardian cards are easy to obtain.

"Official" Christmas cards began with Queen Victoria in the 1840s. The British royal family's cards are generally portraits reflecting significant personal events of the year.

Impact in usa

It wasn't until 1860 that the first Christmas cards went on sale in the United States. An immigrant from Germany set up shop around Boston, Massachusetts and created the first colour greeting cards for both Christmas and New Years.

Louis Prang prided himself on the creative and festive winter scenes that his cards depicted, and he sold out of his creations annually. He would spend the entire following year creating sets of cards for the next Christmas and New Year celebrations.

In 1953, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first official White House card. The cards usually depict White House scenes as rendered by prominent American artists. The number of recipients has snowballed over the decades, from just 2000 in 1961 to 1.4 million in 2005

Today sending animated, colourful, and vocal Christmas cards has become more popular than ever. E-cards are beginning to take over the industry, although most people still profess that they prefer to receive Christmas cards in hard copy.

E-cards are usually free or very low cost, take less time to complete and send, and since an address book can now be imported into various computer or online elements, there is little chance of forgetting someone.

Christmas cards today are highly popular and hold fast to tradition. Hung by their corners they create a beautiful display of decoration that adds festive enjoyment from those who cannot share the holidays together.

Despite the grumbling and convenience of e-card mailings, Christmas cards are expected to have a phenomenal longevity with those who celebrate Christmas.