Christmas Traditions: Christmas Cards

The tradition of sending Christmas card greetings to friends and family dates back to the Victorian period in England. The first ever Christmas card, designed by a British artist named John Horsely and commissioned by the British Postal Service, depicted a three-paneled Christmas scene. The center panel showed a family with children, parents and grandparents raising their glasses in a Christmas toast. The side panels featured acts of Christmas charity: feeding the hungry and clothing the naked. The inscription read "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You" -- a greeting familiar to all who purchase Christmas cards today.

The tradition of sending Christmas cards has evolved over the years. Today, many companies have even adopted the practice by sending business Christmas cards as a way to wish their customers a very happy holiday.

Like this article?

Related Articles:
Celebrating Christmas Around the World
The Voices of Christmas
The Story of Santa's Reindeer
The Legend of the Christmas Stocking
The Story of the Christ Child and Christmas

Add Comment

 

Name:
E-Mail:
Location:	Select US State or Country ... Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Ascension Island Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling Islands) Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Croatia (Hrvatska) Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic East Timor Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Europe Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France France, Metropolitan French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard and McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea (North) (People's Republic) Korea (South) (Republic) Kuwait Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyz Republic) Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles Neutral Zone (Saudia Arabia/Iraq) New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestine Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda S. Georgia and S. Sandwich Isls. Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and The Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa Soviet Union (former) Spain Sri Lanka St. Helena St. Pierre and Miquelon Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom (Great Britain) United Kingdom (Great Britain) United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City State (Holy See) Venezuela Viet Nam Virgin Islands (British) Virgin Islands (US) Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Yugoslavia Zaire Zambia Zimbabwe
Message:

Comments

christmas function brisbane from Australia

05:12 11/24/2011

 

Really a nice article of Christmas Cards.

Eshghet from Iran

04:13 12/28/2010

 

christmas Mobarak Aziiiizam

shadi

17:04 12/23/2010

 

Happy Christmas

bunty from Saudi Arabia

07:00 12/23/2010

 

happy christmas all friend

Hales

00:25 12/23/2010

 

Happy Christmass & prosperous new year.

katelan from United Kingdom (Great Britain)

09:52 12/15/2010

 

merry x mas xxxx

emil from Norway

04:31 12/15/2010

 

hei på dei d er ragnar som sender , du har vel ishe lyst til å ta en rask en i kveld hææ? du hadde likt det.. sånn som ungdommane lika da ja.. d ska eg sei deg vettu, eg kan bare vekk gebisse mitt så skal eg gje deg ein skikkelig omgang med slurping. DU sjønna eg e så vant til å drikke melk me sugerør...heheh elr i kan bytte

baby sandra from California, US

03:02 12/15/2010

 

hi

MAXclyde from Mexico

12:39 12/12/2010

 

hi santa this MAX i wat a ring for my tiffine lovie

olivia

21:58 12/09/2010

 

I NEED A PIC OF A CHRISTMAS TRADITION PLZ GET ME SOME!!!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE