Can you believe that we send around one billion Christmas cards each year in the UK alone? Find out more about the history of Christmas cards – and who sent the very first one!
If you are preparing to write Christmas cards for your loved ones and friends, have you every thought where the tradition came from?
The first Christmas card
Henry Cole sent the UK’s first Christmas card in 1843. Today, Henry is perhaps best known as a founding director of the V&A. As a senior civil servant, he had been instrumental in reforming the postal system and setting up the Penny Post.
The story goes that a pile of unanswered mail at Christmas was beginning to bother him. He needed a way to wish friends and family the compliments of the season in a fraction of the time.
Henry got together with his friend John Callcott Horsley, an artist. Horsley designed a card featuring three generations of Sir Henry’s family raising a Christmas toast in a central, hand-coloured panel, with scenes of Christmas charity on the outer panels.
The two printed 1000 cards, selling them for a shilling a piece.
Prince Albert and Charles Dickens
Although initial sales weren’t encouraging, the 1840s were a time of change. Prince Albert was popularising German Christmas traditions, such as decorated Christmas trees. And Charles Dickens put Christmas and its traditions firmly in the public eye with the publication of “A Christmas Carol” in 1843.
Other early cards featured paper lace (embossed and pierced paper), and cards with layers that opened to reveal flowers or religious scenes.
Victorians loved exchanging cards, and this period introduced many symbols of the season which we now associate with Christmas – holly and evergreens, country churches and snowy landscapes, indoor scenes of Christmas rituals and gift giving.
The introduction of the Half Penny Post in 1894 boosted Christmas card sales, with the “postcard” format being cheaper to buy and to send.
Christmas card facts
- Around 60% of all greetings cards sold in the UK each year are Christmas cards.
- Charities in the UK raise an estimated £50 million from Christmas card sales every year.
- In 2001, one of Henry Cole’s first Christmas cards sold at auction for £22,000.
- Women are responsible for 85% of card sales.
This year’s posting dates
The days are whizzing by so here’s a quick reminder of the last posting dates for Christmas.
This year, have your second-class mail in the post by Wednesday, December 18, and Friday, December 20 for first class. However, we would suggest you mail your cards as early as possible to be sure to get them to their destination in plenty of time. For international deliveries, send them as soon as you can in November.
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Lucy Crichton Better known as “Fiction Editor Lucy”, I am always on the look-out for the very best short stories, poems and pocket novels. As well as sourcing enjoyable content, I enjoy working with our established contributors, encouraging new talent, and celebrating 155 years of “Friend” fiction!
