Like many aspects of modern niceties and etiquette, the Victorians are responsible for the rise of the sending of Christmas cards. Technically speaking, the first commercial Christmas card was an Edwardian invention as it was first produced in 1843 in London by Sir Henry Cole (the British public postal system started in 1840), but it is the Victorians who truly latched on to it a few years later (in part due to improved printing technology). First displaying beautiful spring and summer florals and, later, taking on a more religious motif, the holiday card harkens back to centuries of people exchanging niceties and tokens of luck and affection around the winter solstice.
Religious holiday or not, the bleak winter at the close and start of a year seem to make a person crave niceties – giving and receiving. It is naturally a time that inspires one to get in touch with old friends and loved ones and the holiday card is a perfect medium. Because I miraculously turned into an adult this year and not only sent holiday cards, but got them all out prior to Christmas, I thought now would be the perfect time for our first etiquette lesson.
1. A Christmas greeting vs a generic greeting.
This is entirely up to you. I tend to err towards a generic greeting as my cards don’t always go to people who celebrate Christmas. Everyone, though, celebrates New Year’s and who doesn’t love the lights and decor of the season? Living here, it’s rare to hear someone wish you a Merry Christmas and it has sort of left my lexicon a bit as a result. A simple “Seasons Greetings” tends to take care of all of this. If you celebrate Christmas, you are more than welcome to have that in the card, I just tend to err on the side of PC when religion is involved.
2. Personalization
I know, you have 500 cards to send and no spare time, but take a little time to personalize it some. Think about what it feels like when you receive something generic and boring. It sucks, right? It doesn’t have to be much, just something to let the recipient know that you are actually thinking of them and wishing them these things, that they aren’t just another name on a list.
3. Write it by hand
The easiest way to personalize a card is to write it by hand. That being said, something that is meant to convey niceties and happy wishes SHOULD be handwritten. We have a family friend that writes a silly poem every year and in that poem sums up the past year as experienced by her family so, naturally, that is printed on pretty paper and tucked into the card, but she also always takes the time to write a personal note to whomever the card is going to. Her card is always one of the most special cards to be dropped in our mailbox. At the very least, write the damn address by hand. Don’t be that person.
4. Include a return address!
In an age where most people don’t keep tabs on physical addresses vs. email addresses, always include a return address. Don’t forget that some of those lovely cards you see in the stores may require extra postage! Should you forget, a return address gives you a second chance to make sure that card you took so much care and time to write will actually reach the intended person.
5. Know your audience
If you are writing to your boss or a work acquaintance (or your husband’s boss or whatever – no judgement) keep it profesh. Mail it to said person’s office and use proper English and punctuation. Remember in elementary school when you were taught all the different kinds of letters to send people for various situations and levels of familiarity? No? Well, now would be a good time to revisit that.
6. Don’t send an e-card
Seriously, just don’t ever send an e-card. Ew. Who does that?
Look, at the end of the day, the Christmas card isn’t about religion. Yeah, we get it, no one knows when Christ was born and odds are, the west celebrates it on December 25th because of the solstice and maybe that’s because the Catholic church wanted to force pagans to become Christian or maybe it’s because of the heavy influence of solstice celebrations prior to Christianity. Maybe the East has it right by celebrating on January 6th (Epiphany to those of you Catholics/Episcopalians/Anglicans) or maybe your atheist friends who say Jesus was born in July are right. Maybe the Jews and Muslims are right. Maybe that Discovery Channel special from 2007 was right and we still don’t know for sure that he was a real dude. It’s just a damn card. The point is the solstice celebrations are in honor of a perceived rebirth of the sun and Christmas is the celebration of the birth of the son of God. Both of these events a time of joy and celebration and thanks. It was a chance for ancient peoples to celebrate before shit got really rough. How can you have a time of joy and celebration and thanks and NOT include family and friends? It is a chance to right past wrongs, to reach out to someone you’ve lost touch with, to help someone in need, to tell people “Hey, I appreciate you,” and to tell people you love them. That is the real reason for the season and the real purpose behind Christmas/holiday cards.
So, shame on you for sending an e-card or the same generic bullshit to everyone! Get off your lazy ass and show a little effort. These are people you love, after all. Dick.
Merry Christmas!
Happy New Year!
Joyous Saturnalia!
Happy Maidyarem!
Merry Goru!
And a good La an Dreoilin to all!
Drunk June Cleaver 