The Christmas Card

The tradition of sending Christmas cards begun in 1843 – about the same time as the first Christmas seal was published. The first Christmas card was produced in England, and the idea was well-received, because the following year, more than 25,000 Christmas cards were sold. However, the first Christmas card provoked controversy in certain circles in England, because the Christmas card pictured a company of people touching glasses and saying “Merry Christmas”. Putting alcohol and holy Christmas in one picture did not please the English citizens then.
For more than thirty years, Americans had to import greeting cards from England. In 1875, German immigrant to the U.S. Louis Prang, opened a lithographic shop with $250, and published the first line of U.S. Christmas cards. His initial creations featured birds and flowers, unrelated to the Xmas scene. By 1881, Prang was producing more than 5 million Christmas cards per year.

Today, Christmas cards come in all shapes and sizes -- from small and simple to big and colorful. The big American producer of Christmas cards, Hallmark, employs a whole army of Christmas card designers who produce new Christmas cards every season. The most popular cards are the old fashioned and nostalgic ones with sledges and pixies, and a big, chubby Santa Clause in a red and white coat.
Since the Internet became widespread in the middle of the 90’s, sending electronic Christmas cards became the trend.

Many homepages offer easy-to-use digital cards which simple require the user to write an email address, a traditional Christmas greeting wishing for many nice Christmas presents, and finish by clicking “send”. The card arrives in the receiver’s inbox, and the old Christmas greeting tradition is carried on albeit in a modern way.

Did you know that…

In 2004, the German post office gave away 20 million scented stickers for free to make Christmas cards smell like a fir Christmas tree, cinnamon, gingerbread, or a honey-wax candle.
A surge in Christmas cards came in the 1940s, courtesy of World War II. Friends and family, far away fighting, received cards with patriotic messages and symbols, like Uncle Sam.
Many organizations produce special Christmas cards as a fundraising tool. The most famous of these enterprises is probably the UNICEF Christmas card program, launched in 1949.
An average household in America will mail out 28 Christmas cards each year and see 28 cards arrive in their place.