FROM THE JOURNAL - COCKTAILS & CURIOSITIES
The tradition of sending greeting cards goes back much further than you might think. The ancient Chinese and Egyptians exchanged greetings to mark important occasions, and by the early 1400s, handmade greetings were being bought and exchanged across Europe.
But when it comes to the commercial Christmas card, we have the British to thank.
In 1843, Sir Henry Cole commissioned artist John Callcott Horsley to design a festive card that he could send to friends and acquaintances. As a busy man, he simply didn't have time to write hundreds of personal Christmas letters!
Around 1,000 cards were printed, each one hand-coloured by professional colourists. Cole kept the number he needed and sold the rest for a shilling each under the pseudonym Felix Summerly.
The design was a little controversial for its day. Alongside scenes of people feeding and clothing the poor was a family gathered together for Christmas... with the children raising glasses of wine! It certainly raised a few eyebrows, but it didn't stop the cards becoming popular, and more were soon produced to satisfy demand.
A handful of those original cards still survive today. In 2001, one sold at auction for an astonishing £22,500.
It does make me wonder whether we're slowly losing the tradition of sending Christmas cards. In an age of texts and emails, they're one of the few things that still carry someone's handwriting – whether it's from parents, grandparents, children or old friends. That alone makes them feel rather special, and perhaps worth keeping.
So, tell me... do you still send Christmas cards? And have you got a box of treasured cards tucked away somewhere?