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Who Invented the Christmas Card?

Christmas Card

Christmas Greeting cards are a common form of fast communication and well wishes. With just a little bit of art, a thoughtful message, and a signature, your card is made. The question is, how did Christmas cards they come about, and why?

Holiday cards have appeared again and again throughout history. There is evidence that ancient Romans exchanged cards of some form for their New Year’s celebrations. At the time there wasn't any form of mass production or printing, so these cards would persist, in scroll, woodcut, and handmade paper forms.

However things would change in the mid-1800s, with the advent of printing technologies granting people the ability to mass produce written works. The first known Christmas card was made in 1843, by John Callcott Horsley. A drawing of a family celebrating Christmas dinner with side photos of charity, it was a popular product.

From that time on, cards evolved into multiple forms. There were many trends towards homemade cards at different times, but the manufactured options were always there and were always appealing. Nowadays, people use cards, manufactured and self-made, to communicate with far away family and friends, and to inject a bit of happiness into another's holiday.