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A Christmas card is one of the most important ways to celebrate the season. Sometimes it is the only time you correspond with each other throughout the year. It is a way to catch up on what is going on in everyone’s lives. The estimate of how many Christmas cards are sent each year is a startling 1.5 billion. There are many sources that will let you send a greeting over the internet for those of you that prefer that method. The nice thing about this type of Christmas card is that you can personalize the picture and the text. This means so much to the recipient. While you can certainly use the traditional greeting in your cards, it will give more joy and happiness if you let your imaginative side take over. You can find many different styles of Christmas cards to send. They can be old fashioned such as a Victorian scene with a horse drawn carriage or you could be whimsical and use animals in Christmas garb. When you are looking for ideas on what to say on your Christmas cards you could get some ideas from some Governors in the United States. Colorado Governor Bill Owens extolled the virtues of seeking peace, finding love and good fortune in the holiday season. The Governor of Oregon Ted Kulongoski used his love of different languages to convey the message of peace. Mark Sanford is the South Carolina Governor that used a more religious theme to his Christmas card. Statesmen aren’t the only ones who like to prepare the Christmas cards with something more personal. You can find many famous people who like to take the time to do the same thing. Oren Arnold had a very inspiring message on his Christmas card. He included ideas for Christmas gifts such as the act of forgiving our adversaries, giving love to a friend, be a role model for children and give kindness and good will to all. Phillip Brooks writes that the qualities of charity combined with religious beliefs will send the darkness fleeing and the radiant splendour of Christmas will be upon us. Larry Wilde reminds us that it is not the size of the tree you have because to a little one it is always large. Let’s not forget that Christmas should be a time for reflection of all that is good and funny. You could let your humorous side shine through when you make up your Christmas card greeting. You could include something about ceasing your gift buying excursion when your wallet runs dry. You could also think about what ideas and thoughts were used on Christmas cards from years gone by. They spoke a little differently then than we do today. The times were maybe a little kinder and gentler than today. There was a great appreciation for happiness and spreading joy. Where did the tradition of sending a Christmas card come from? It actually has its roots in England and was sent in the year 1843. The scene was one of family life and they were enjoying some spirits. Queen Victoria took up the sentiment of sending Christmas cards and started with filling the card with information about the year and family. This may be why so many people still carry on the idea of including a Christmas letter with their Christmas cards. Some of the first Christmas cards were more inclined to show a more spring like scene instead of what we use now. The Christmas card gained popularity rapidly in Europe and they crossed the ocean when in 1875 Louis Prang, a German, produced a line of Christmas cards. He went on to eventually design over five million Christmas cards in a few short years. Although many people still enjoy taking the time to send a Christmas card there is a trend that is developing. The technological age has gripped many people and they prefer to send electronic Christmas cards. The development of the internet seems to get a lot of credit for this trend. The first Christmas card that was sent over a mobile phone was early as 1993. There are a few interesting tidbits that may be of interest, such as the first message sent via short messaging was just "Merry Christmas". A Christmas card from 1843 cost a lot more in 2001 than it did in 1843. This card was bought at an auction and the price tag was 20,000 pounds or 40,000 US. While there are many Christmas cards sold only a small number have a religious connotation. Finally, in an attempt to give the receiver of the Christmas card a bit more of the holiday spirit a German post office gave away scented stickers to affix to Christmas cards. However you decide to design your Christmas card and what message you use, you will be carrying on a time honoured tradition.
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