Here we are at the start of another new year, and I’ve finally figured out why I haven’t been able to work up any great enthusiasm for Christmas in quite a while now: Not one of the holiday greetings I received in the mail contained a single check or nice crisp $5 bill like back in the good old days.
There was a time I lived for those cards from my grandparents, aunts and uncles, even though it meant I had to struggle with writing thank you notes. It was all worth it when I looked at the growing balance in my savings account passbook. Toys were great, but I was all about that green!
When it comes to holiday greeting cards, it seems we Colonials have yet another complaint to lodge against the Crown, and perhaps more than a few of the lesser nobility. Queen Victoria got the ball rolling when she sent what is credited as being the very first-ever Christmas card. With this royal imprimatur, the sending of such cards must have become something of a fad amongst the upper crust. Then in 1843, a gent by the name of Sir Henry Cole commissioned a printing of 1,000 Christmas cards depicting a multi-generational family group of swells — presumably his — swilling a seasonal toddy and surrounded by depictions of those self-same folk doing good deeds for the poor — giving alms and food, that sort of thing. A nifty little bit of PR by Sir Henry and, as such, I imagine a tax deduction as well.
As with so much else, it was only a matter of time before the trickledown effect began trickling, and those amongst the great unwashed who wished to emulate the wealthier classes, demanded access to ready-printed Christmas cards of their own … cheap! Hearing opportunity a-knockin’, printers met that demand and an industry — as well as a tradition — was born. Anyway, that’s the way I imagine it all went down, but it doesn’t really matter. One irrefutable truth remains: We’ve all bought into this annual Christmas rite — along with the baking of largely inedible cookies and over-decorating the tree and home.
Like everything else, time has changed the holiday greeting card landscape. I can recall my parents always had a large festive display made with all the Christmas cards the family received each year. For many years my mother’s mailing list required the purchase of a number of boxes of cards to be inscribed and mailed. With all our moves, there were always old neighbors to keep up with, as well as friends, grandparents, aunts and uncles. The list varied from year to year, based on who amongst the many had not recently reciprocated by sending us a card — usually these were old neighbors who’d finally wised up to the fact we weren’t ever coming back. Sometimes it was a relative, for the same reason.
I’m sure sending Christmas cards was a chore for Mom, just like the many others she shouldered to create some Christmas magic for the family wherever we happened to find ourselves that year. The upside to Mom’s efforts was all the marvelous greetings we received for weeks before the holidays. Newly received cards were admired, and the inscriptions read aloud around the dining room table. We all agreed the real gems were the “annual newsletters,” which were gaining in popularity at the time and which some people favored over a brief line or three.
Most newsletters were concise and to the point, while others rambled a bit — especially when the sender got to bragging on their kids. Along with the artfully posed family photos with everyone in matching pajamas, Santa hats and smiles, they had one thing in common with Good Ol’ Sir Cole: they were all nifty little bits of familial brand building. Since Mom was something of a traditionalist when it came to such things, I don’t believe she ever succumbed to the allure of one-size-fits-all, mass-produced Christmas greetings. Over time, natural attrition reduced the number of cards needing to be sent to a manageable handful, and that seemed to suit Mom just fine.
My own Christmas card tradition has followed the time-honored blueprint established by my mother, and now I too am down to just a few cards to be mailed each year. Of course, due to the paucity of cards I receive, this also means no large festive display. And though I long ago aged-out of receiving such gifts from far-flung family members, I still open each card with a slight stir of excitement at the thought a check or cash might fall out. It’s the season of magic and miracles, so one can dream!
W.R. van Elburg is a James City County resident. He can be reached at w.r.vanelburg@gmail.com.
