Christmas cards, do you still send them?

Quite a mixed response, out of curiosity I looked up the tradition of sending and receiving cards at Christmas. The Postal Museum explains that Queen Victoria sent the first official Christmas card and a fellow name of Rowland Hill, he it was who introduced the penny post, commissioned the first commercial Christmas card in 1843.

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Designed by painter John Horsley, cards were printed lithographically and then hand coloured. Horsley’s design depicts two acts of charity – “feeding the hungry” and “clothing the naked” – and a family party scene, in which three generations are drinking wine to celebrate the season. The depiction of children drinking wine proved to be controversial, for this was an era when the temperance movement was gaining in popularity in the UK, but this did not stop people buying the cards and more were printed to satisfy demand.

So there you have it, I do like those cards that others have made themselves, it brought back the memories of childhood when, at school, we would have to make a card to take home to our parents. That usually evoked a tear from mother and an extra sixpence pocket money from Dad. Thank you all for responding and if you have any thoughts about the tradition, do share them. My wife and I will send out many again, there's a charity whose cards we buy, we like to support them.
 

hollydolly said:
Has anyone received any Cards in the post yet ?... Around this time of the month my first card is usually from the church...
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We always get a card on December 1st from a dear lady back where we lived in Northamptonshire. Back then she was a young Mother with two small children and an abusive husband who eventually walked out on her. We met her through a lady that I worked with. I told my wife that we might have just found our "Ironing Lady." We were both working, and our social life was busy because of the dancing, so domestic chores had to be squeezed in as and when.
The poor woman wept when my wife called her and put the ironing suggestion to her. Her husband had left her penniless, she was so grateful, she made us weep too, but in fairness, it wasn't charity really. The lady worked for her money and a very good job she did too. Her card is rather special. I can't believe all that happened forty five years ago, she must be in her sixties, even late sixties, but she will always be a twenty something.
 
Sending and receiving Xmas cards used to be a big thing with my parents, but I think that it’s less of a “thing” now with the price of both cards and postage! The decline in Xmas cards also may be associated with decreased frequency of sending traditional mailed letters and increased frequency of contact with desired parties via the internet. Xmas cards used to be a shout-out to people you knew but perhaps hadn’t directly seen in some time. Communications were fewer and more formalized then…
 
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