Christmas Cards
“I’ve always felt there is something sacred in a piece of paper that travels the earth from hand to hand, head to head, heart to heart.”
Practice
Make a List. Allow creating a list of names of individuals and families to send a Christmas card to be a practice of gratitude for relational connections.
Make the Investment. Embrace the time to create, address, and mail Christmas cards as a tangible act of care.
Mail with Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. Hold a posture that a simple note or beautifully designed card can bring hope, peace, joy, and love this holiday season.
For much of the year, our mailboxes receive little beyond bulk mail circulations and unwanted financial applications. But each December, there is the possibility of the arrival of a Christmas card, a small artifact of attention to relational connection. In an increasingly digital reality, sending Christmas cards to friends, family, and neighbors is a countercultural practice of paper and pace.
The custom of sending Christmas cards began in Victorian England in 1843, the same year Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol. Sir Henry Cole, a British civil servant, commissioned an artist to design an illustrated card with, “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You.” The cards were sold for one shilling each. Christmas cards became a meaningful method of connection in years when family and friends were separated by wartime or migration. Christmas cards carried with them a sense of home, belonging, and care. The holiday tradition has shifted with printing technology to include portraits and creative designs that provide a way to stay up-to-date with friends, family, and neighbors year after year. In our current moment of instant digital media, sending a Christmas card is a practice that may feel outdated; it requires an investment of time to create and an increasing financial investment to mail. Yet, the investment can add to the value of this treasured holiday tradition.
Sending Christmas cards has become an important practice for our home during the holidays, as it is a physical reminder each year of those we love and are loved by. Each year, we revisit a list of names to send a card. The hope is to send both a holiday greeting and blessing, while sharing a few glimpses into our life from the past year. We send Christmas cards to families we have not seen in years, we send them to people we see every week, and we walk some cards across the street to our neighbors. Each is a gesture of sharing our lives and extending a holiday greeting and blessing of goodwill.
The practice of sending Christmas cards endures even in our current reality, where e-mail and messages can be sent instantly. It may be a practice made even more meaningful because of how much of our life is now digital and disposable. Sending a Christmas card is an embodied practice, a way of communicating relational significance that requires effort. Whether a handwritten note, a family photo, or a simple blessing of hope and peace, the Christmas card reminds us in this holiday season that we are seen, known, and loved.
13 Ideas from Artifact Uprising for crafting Christmas Cards. Artifact Uprising is a Denver-based company that aims to “create joy by helping you honor the meaningful in your life through printed photo gifts, books, and more.”
