Christmas Traditions: The Christmas Card

The Christmas card originated in England over 150 years ago.  Richard Armour wrote "You cannot reach perfection though you try however hard to there's always one more friend or so you should have sent a card to."  Sir Henry Cole knew exactly what Armour was saying.  The founder of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London had so many Christmas greetings to send that handwriting them was impossible.  Yet he wanted to make his friends aware of the need to help the destitute on that holiday. 

In 1843 Sir Henry commissioned John Calcott Horsley to paint a card showing the feeding and clothing of the poor.  A center panel displayed a happy family embracing one another, sipping wine and enjoying the festivities.  (So much for good intentions.  The card drew criticism because showing a child enjoying a sip of wine was considered "fostering the moral corrupton of children.")  "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You" was printed on that first card.  Legend says Sir Henry didn't send any cards the following year, but the custom became popular anyway. 

Holiday cards designed by Kate Greenaway, the Victorian children's writer and illustrator and Frances Brundage and Ellen H. Clapsaddle, were favorites in the late 1800's and early 1900's.  Most were elaborate, decorated with fringe, silk and satin.  Some were shaped like fans and crescents; others were cut into the shapes of bells, birds, candles and even plum puddings.  Some folded like maps or fitted together as puzzles; other squealed or squeaked.  Pop-up Cards reveled tiny mangers or skaters with flying scarves gliding around a mirrored pond.

For more than 30 years, Americans had to import greeting cards from England.  In 1875, Louis Prang, a German immigrant to the U.S., opened a lithographic shop with $250 and published the first line of U.S. Christmas cards.  His initial creations featured flowers and birds, unrelated to the Christmas scene.  By 1881, Prang was producing more than five million Christmas cards each year.  His Yuletide greetings began to feature snow scenes, fir trees, glowing fireplaces and children playing with toys.  His painstaking craftsmanship and lithographic printing have made his cards a favorite of collectors today.  Christmas Cards have changed since the days of Sir Henry and Louis Prang.  They now sport comics, jokes, and clever verses.  But those that picture timeless and simple settings such as excited children around a Christmas tree, Nativity scenes, nature scenes and carolers singing in the snow are still in the highest demand today.  (By Juddi Morris and Vivian Hotchkiss)