The custom of sending Christmas cards began in Britain in 1840 when the first “Penny Post” public postal deliveries began. Helped by the new railway system, this public postal service was the 19th century’s communication revolution, just as e-mail is for us today.
Englishman Henry Cole is considered the Father of the Christmas card. During 1843 Christmas season, Cole was so busy he couldn’t find time to write and send holiday greetings to his acquaintances. To solve his problem, he hired John Callcott Horsley, a renowned London-based artist, to design Christmas cards for him.
As printing methods improved, Christmas cards were produced in large numbers from about 1860. They became even more popular in Britain when a card could be posted in an unsealed envelope for one half-penny, half the price of an ordinary letter. Early Christmas cards were typically based on religious themes. Throughout the 20th century, however, Christmas cards depicted the changing tastes of people, as well as technological breakthroughs in printing techniques. For instance, during World War II, Christmas cards portrayed patriotic themes.
Today, Christmas cards typically feature jokes, winter pictures, Father Christmas, or romantic scenes of life in past times. And in spite of the Internet’s effect on how we communicate, Christmas cards remain an enduring tradition. In 2005 alone, 1.9 million Christmas cards were sent in the U.S.
