We can thank Sir Henry Cole of England for the
tradition of sending and receiving Christmas cards. In 1843, he commissioned John
Calcott Horsley to create an image Henry could send to his friends and family.
The card featured a family celebrating the holiday, as well as, folks helping
the poor. With the writing of A Christmas Carol, a new light shined on helping
those in need.
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| My great-grandma's Christmas Cards on display. |
Eventually Americans adopted the practice of
sending cards to friends and family to celebrate the season. In 1875, Louis
Prang mass produced affordable cards for everyone to share in. Then in 1915,
the Hall brothers created Hallmark cards. And you know the rest of that story.
Guess who had the first "selfie" Christmas card? Ohio's own Annie Oakley. She toured Scotland around the holidays and had her photo printed on the cards she sent back to friends in America.
I'm fortunate to have a few of my great-grandma's Christmas cards framed for display. I enjoy sending and receiving cards. I hope you do
too!
Cooper, James. “The History of Christmas Cards
.” Why Christmas?, 2018, www.whychristmas.com.
Green, Jonathan. Christmas Miscellany:
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Christmas. Skyhorse Publishing, 2017.