Ode to Old-Fashioned Greetings

I know, this is a tad out of season... I thought it would be a fun post to work on, and hope you will find it somewhat interesting as well. It may even provide a little go-send-someone-a-card/letter inspiration. 

I was first inspired to write this post while I was signing Christmas cards, but that never got past the back burner stage. Until now. Here we're closing in on spring, and I'm finally lifting the lid to give it a good stir. With all the snow we have in Manitoba at the moment, not to mention the cold temperatures, it even looks like the Yuletide season. Back in early December, I was wondering where the idea of sending Christmas cards originated and did a little bit of research. 

I love greeting cards, both the sending and receiving them! I have cards that were sent to me when I was still going to school. In those days, I had a few pen-pals. I think I've kept every card I ever got since then. Many of those cards came with glitter on them. Is it just me, or are those glittered cards making a come back? The last few years I've received quite a few of the glittery variety, especially at Christmas. Here are some of them, although the glitter doesn't show up very well:

Glitter or no glitter, today, regrettably, many people no longer bother to send Christmas cards, and rarely for other occasions. It's such a beautiful and thoughtful tradition, I don't even want to entertain the thought of giving it up! I grew up in a family that always enjoyed sending and receiving Christmas cards and decided  to continue the tradition after I got married. I found this activity especially meaningful during our COVID Christmases. There were so many family members and friends that we missed seeing, so this was one of the ways we kept in touch. Hopefully this year Christmas will be back to how we remember it. I'll still do cards, mind you. 

My favourite cards come with pretty envelopes. And to emphasize my previous point of card-sending going bye-bye, I keep finding complete packages of new cards with pretty envelope in thrift stores. Yes, they go into my shopping cart. If you ever get a card from me, that's where I likely bought it. It's not how much you spend on greeting cards, but the love, thoughts and wishes coming with them that hold the most value!

Anyway, back to my research. The first Christmas card was sent 179 years ago, by Henry Cole. He was looking for a quick way to answer his household's mail and collaborated with his artist friend, John Callcott Horsley and came up with the postcard idea. Read the story here. 

Here is a copy of that first ever Christmas card:

                                     Posted with permission from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK

For me, sending greeting cards is a beautiful way to connect with people who touch my life. I send many cards throughout the course of a year. Most of them are for happy occasions, but there are also those that are signed on a sad note, when a loved one has passed away, and I wish to reach out to their family to express our condolences. 

On a related topic: When was the last time you wrote or received a hand-written letter on lovely stationery? Years ago a friend of mine sent long letters on a regular basis. He had such an endearing and funny way of expressing himself that each letter brought an abundance of joy. His take on everyday activities were always expressed with a touch of humour, even though he likely wasn't trying to be funny at all, but rather it was his own natural way for sharing glimpses of life as he saw it. I still miss those letters. 

These days emails are quicker and less expensive, (I do Christmas newsletters this way.), but there is something special about a snail mail letter. Remember those? That is not to say that I don't enjoy long newsy emails; I do, and find them very nice as well. However, not many people write those anymore either, likely because every vacation, celebration, shopping trip, pet caper, plate of food, hobby..............  is posted on Whatsapp, Twitter, Instagram........ Not so much blogs, it seems, because those take a bit more time and effort. 

What's your take on old-fashioned greetings versus modern means of staying in touch?