Where did the tradition of sending Christmas cards start? Let’s take you back -- way back -- to 1843.
Enter Henry Cole, a member of the English elite, a prominent educator and patron of the arts -- and busy, busy socialite. During Christmas of 1843, Cole’s large circle of friends was stressing him out.
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Following an expansion of the British postal system, Cole was being flooded with letters -- like, written letters from friends. Remember writing letters? The “Penny Post” had also just debuted, which allowed people to send mail anywhere in the U.K. by using a penny stamp.
Cole loved the new postal system, but he was a busy, busy man -- and the stack of letters was causing him great anxiety. In Victorian England, it was very rude to not answer mail, so he had to figure something out.
And then it hit him. Cole asked a friend, artist J.C. Horsley, to design something for him. A picture of a family at a table celebrating Christmas, flanked with images of people helping the poor. He made a thousand copies, printed on stiff cardboard, and included the greeting, “A Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year To You.”
And there you have it -- the first Christmas card. (See photo up top, that’s the one!)
According to Smithsonian Magazine, some were upset over what appeared to show children drinking wine. Ah, the 19th Century.
Anyway, within a few years, many Victorian elites copied Cole’s idea and started sending out their own versions of holiday cards. It took several decades for it to really catch on. According to Smithsonian, Louis Prang, a Prussian immigrant with a print shop near Boston, is credited with creating the first Christmas card originating in the United States in 1875.