Christmas card exchange during the Christmas season has been a pastime for many centuries. The first known Christmas card was given in 1611. The first commercial card was designed in 1843 in London to make the postal service more popular. The modern format of the folded card with an envelope was an innovation in 1915 by the Hall Brothers company, later known as Hallmark. The White House began a tradition of an official White House Christmas card with President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. Cards became enormously popular in the 1930's-1950's. I began my government career as a mail carrier in 1986 and carried the mail for about 5 years. I remember December being real busy with Christmas cards. My mail case would be full of red, white and green Christmas card envelopes. They were so noticeable because they were so much bigger than the average letter or bill at the time. I imagine the mail case for each route is much less festive these days.
I remember our family receiving Christmas cards when I was young in the 70's and 80's. My mother would tape them to a large double door frame along the edges. We would get so many cards the door frame would be covered up each side and across the top with cards left over and stacked in a basket. That was a time when we received many cards from relatives that have now passed away.
We sent out about 25 cards this year, but have only received 12 to date. I believe our generation will be one of the last to exchange cards through the mail. These days, people either post a greeting on their social media or send a greeting or letter via email. It is just not the same. I enjoy getting the cards in the mail. I enjoy getting the newer version where the sender puts photos of the family consisting of a family photo or multiple photos of the year's activities. This card exchange pastime is on the decline and I fear will soon be a victim of technology and social media.
Do you still send and receive Christmas cards? If so, have you seen a decline in participants over the past years? My wife is a card giver. She still sends cards for birthdays, anniversaries, Halloween, Thanksgiving and other major holidays. She loves getting cards as well. It is a small gesture that means so much. It is much like receiving a Thank You note, which is also a lost art.
Merry Christmas to everyone!
May your packages remain safe from porch pirates!
I didn’t send any out this year. Just too much financial expenses going on in my life. I hope to send done out next year.
ReplyDeleteI have heard at least one other person who talked about the cost of stamps being too much for sending out Christmas card volume. Hope your 2026 is a better year for financial expenses!
DeleteI love Christmas cards. I don't send them anymore nor do I receive any but just remembering how we displayed them bring back such great memories. And yes, during the height there were so many interesting designs. I used to save them to use the front in various ways, like gift tags for example. I also loved getting the picture format. It was a little bit different feel but how fun to see the changes in family and friends from year to year.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting. I like the idea of using them for gift tags. I'm really surprised that they didn't completely go away like the handwritten letter.
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