WHY DO WE SEND CHRISTMAS GREETING CARDS?

Today's Christmas greeting cards date back to the mid nineteen hundreds and their story begins with a man called Sir Henry Cole. However, the story of Christmas cards has its roots in cultures much older still and many have contributed to the tradition as we know it today. So what is it about Christmas cards and these traditions which remains such an important part of our celebration and why is it we still send them?

Looking through the sands of time at the history of Christmas greeting cards can help us to understand and appreciate their place in today’s world and gives a new layer of meaning to the tradition.

Exploring the History of Greeting Cards

The Chinese and The Egyptians had the original idea of sharing greetings via written messages – mainly around New Year’s celebration at first (not New Year as we know it now of course!). It is thought those ancient greetings were only sent to ward off evil spirits across both cultures and not sent at other times of the year. Of course, they also bore no similarities to the types of cards we are all used to these days!

Sending of cards really started to evolve once printing presses became mechanized as well as the later arrival of postage stamps and an industrial postal system.

This is where Sir Henry Cole came into it – he is widely credited with inventing the commercial Christmas card, as well as being involved in many other innovative things for the era, such as the GreatExhibition – which helped (through its surplus funds), to found the V&A Museum in London, along with driving forward the introduction of the Penny Post.

The First Christmas Greetings Card

Already the idea of sending cards on certain days like New Year’s and Valentine’s Day had occurred, therefore it made sense to start thinking about creating a commercial industry based on Christmas greeting cards alone.

And whilst clearly designs and styles of cards have changed since then, the principal hasn’t changed much at all in over 150 years!

Studies Prove Emotional Connection

In light of technological advances in those 150 years, it might seem a bit silly to some, to still be sending proper physical Christmas cards, yet a study commissioned by the Royal Mail showed that there are still numerous reasons why cards continue to stick around.

The study showed that an overwhelming 72% of people would prefer to receive Christmas Greeting Cards rather than an electronic greeting or message through e-mail or social media. In fact, 27% of people said thatwould actively ignore or delete an e-card, with even more saying they thought an e-greeting was “silly” or “too generic”.

The positive feelings generated by receiving any type of card, but particularly Christmas cards, are good for health and wellbeing, according to comments from cognitive neuroscientist Dr Lynda Shaw. She said: “I firmly believe that receiving cards increases self-esteem, helps to stave off feelings of loneliness and isolation and even to ward off the early stages of depression.”

How Do You Feel When You Get a Card?

I don’t know about you, but when a card is sent to me it reminds me of the person and it shows me howmuch they care. They took time to communicate their feelings, instead of sending a text, using Facebook, Twitter, or other electronic methods. They went out, spent the time to select a card, and spent their hard earned cash to buy and send it.

Back to Dr Shaw – “time is the most precious thing we have to give, so if we spend time choosing, writing and sending a card we are helping people feel valuable and worthwhile.”

What this amounts to is that sending greeting cards is much more than simply staying in touch with a person or exchanging pleasantries. The act of giving a christmas greetings card is in letting that person know you are thinking of them and how much they mean to you. You are sending them a pocket of yourtime and that is something which has the effect of making that person feel special and loved and Christmas is the perfect time to share this with your friends and loved ones.