Cards

Christmas cards are illustrated messages of greeting exchanged between friends and family members during the weeks preceding Christmas Day.The traditional greeting reads wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, much like that of the first commercial Christmas card, produced by Sir Henry Cole in London in 1843.The custom of sending them has become popular among a wide cross section of people with the emergence of the modern trend towards exchanging E cards.Christmas cards are purchased in considerable quantities, and feature artwork, commercially designed and relevant to the season.The content of the design might relate directly to the Christmas narrative with depictions of the Nativity of Jesus, or Christian symbols such as the Star of Bethlehem, or a white dove which can represent both the Holy Spirit and Peace on Earth.Other Christmas cards are more secular and can depict Christmas traditions, mythical figures such as Santa Claus, objects directly associated with Christmas such as candles, holly and baubles, or a variety of images associated with the season, such as Christmastide activities, snow scenes and the wildlife of the northern winter.There are even humorous cards and genres depicting nostalgic scenes of the past such as crinolined shoppers in idealized 19th century streetscapes.Some prefer cards with a poem, prayer, or Biblical verse while others distance themselves from religion with an all inclusive Season greetings.