It’s everyone’s favourite time of year – Christmas! But before we celebrate the big day, we need to first celebrate Christmas Card Day!
Christmas Card Day takes place on December 9 each year. Christmas Card Day is a time to celebrate the thoughtful, heartfelt notes we receive from family, friends, and colleagues. While we understand that a lot of people enjoy the gift-giving aspect of Christmas, we believe a more intimate and personal aspect of the holiday season is the act of giving cards.
At Elite Words, we love the act of writing and firmly believe in the power of words to build strong connections with people. The act of giving a card to someone is a loving gesture, especially if you share a personal message with them. We can sometimes forget to reflect on how much the people in our life mean to us. That’s why holidays, like Christmas or whatever you celebrate, are so important. They remind us to cherish those around us and to actively show our gratitude.
Christmas Card Day may not be a day you know much about (let’s be honest it’s not super well known!). As writers we believe it’s only right that we celebrate it. The act of giving a card is such a wholesome experience for both the giver and the receiver. It’s not often we have the people who mean the most in our lives tell us how much we mean to them in a physical form we can cherish forever. Other than birthdays, cards aren’t freely given that often (even though we think they should!). So, when there’s a day dedicated to the act of giving cards, we should definitely seize the opportunity.
The tangible nature of cards is what makes them so endearing. While those around us may tell us they love us, those instances simply become memories. Cards enact a physical connection to another person’s feelings that we can keep forever. In the famous words of Janice Maeditere, “Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts.”
But what is the history behind Christmas card day? How did this day begin and why is it celebrated?
We’ll give you the rundown about everything to do with Christmas Card Day and share a few messages you could write on your cards!
The history of Christmas Card Day
Christmas Card Day is in honour of Sir Henry Cole of England, who was actually the person who invented the first-ever commercial Christmas card. Back in 1843, Cole had no desire to spend hours creating handwritten Christmas cards to send to his friends and family. Instead, he hired artist John Calcott Horseley to draw a printable greeting card that he could send. This saved him from having to individually write them (a pretty smart idea!).
The first greeting card pictured a large family at a dining table, alongside smaller images of people giving gifts to one another and food to the poor. This card was so popular that Cole printed thousands of them and began to sell any excess he had. In fact, one of the original Christmas cards that Cole himself signed sold at an auction for around $40,500 AUD!
In the United States of America, they didn’t begin using Christmas cards until around 40 years later, in 1880. When more people started migrating to America, cards became a way to keep in contact with their loved ones back home. This led to the creation of the company Hallmark (yes, the same company where we still get most of our cards from) in 1915, where they began mass-producing Christmas cards.
Today, the average Australian sends around 21 cards each. So, you can imagine just how many Christmas cards are opened each year! In fact, Australia is now the third-largest market for greeting cards in the world.
Some fun facts about holiday greeting cards you may not know!
We’ve compiled a list of fun facts about holiday greeting cards that you may not be aware of. For example, did you know that Hallmark invented the folded card?!
- According to Hallmark, their most popular card is one with three angels – two of them looking down while the final one looks at the reader. It’s sold more than 34 million copies!
- There’s an award ceremony for greeting cards called the Louie Awards.
- Christmas cards used to be a status symbol. When Henry Cole began selling his cards, he sold them for a shilling a card, which was almost as much as an average person’s daily wage.
- Werner Erhard, a man from San Francisco, set a world record for sending the most Christmas cards in 1975 – he sent 62, 824 ( yes, you read that number right!)
- Sending physical cards has declined with the rise of digital cards. These are known as e-cards.
How to celebrate Christmas Card Day
So, what’s the best way to celebrate Christmas Card Day? Send a Christmas card!
Christmas cards can be meaningful, funny, loving, and kind. At the core of it, Christmas cards should encapsulate how much someone means to you. Whether they’re a classmate, friend, family member, or colleague, a Christmas card can be given to anyone you want to show your appreciation for.
We understand how difficult it can be to think of the perfect message. Trying to capture your emotions onto paper isn’t always easy. Luckily for you, we’ve compiled a few message suggestions to help you out!
Here are our suggestions for Christmas card messages:
- Merry Christmas from our family to yours.
- Wishing you a very merry Christmas and a Happy New year!
- You mean the world to me. Merry Christmas!
- Thinking of you this Christmas.
- Hoping your Christmas is filled with love and happiness.
- Thank you for everything that you do. Happy holidays.
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Make sure you send lots of cards to everyone you’re thankful for this Christmas Card Day. It can only lead to positive results.
If you need help crafting the perfect message for your business, don’t be afraid to contact us today!
