Each year on Christmas, millions of people around the world send Christmas cards to their friends and relatives. However, only few of them sit down to think, “Who gave birth to the idea of sending Christmas cards?” Henry Cole, an Englishman, is considered to be the Father of Christmas cards.
During 1843 Christmas season, Cole was very busy and he couldn’t find time to write and send holiday greetings to his acquaintances. Hence, he hired John Callcott Horsley, a renowned London-based artist, to design Christmas cards for him. Since then the tradition of sending Christmas cards made a start.
Early Christmas cards were typically, based on religious themes. However, throughout the 20th century Christmas cards depicted the changing tastes of people as well as printing techniques. For instance, during World War II, Christmas cards portrayed patriotic themes.
Modern Christmas cards take full advantage of advanced print and digital technology. People prefer to personalize their Christmas cards by adding photos and clip art. There are some individuals who favor homemade Christmas cards, and use a wide assortment of tools to create them.
The significance of Christmas cards can’t be denied, but it is also a hard-boiled reality their popularity is steadily on a decline. Various surveys have revealed that nowadays, people have greater preference for emails and telephones rather than sending and receiving Christmas cards. Nonetheless, in the year 2005, 1.9 million Christmas cards were sent in the U.S., and it is unlikely that they will disappear in the near future.
