Christmas in a card
by Leticia Suarez-Orendain
of Sun.Star Cebu
The first commercially-produced Christmas card was sent out in 1843.
It had just one design and was drawn by John Calcott Horsley of Torquay, England, at the request of Sir Henry Cole.
Horsley produced 1,000 cards, one side showing a rich family celebrating and the other side showing a poor family receiving clothing.
The Mother of all Christmas cards is a far cry from the ones we have today but it reminds us that people who have better life stations should help the poor with creature provisions.
The years have rolled by yet the tradition that Horsley started has not departed from the world.
Even in this age of cell phones that double as camera and television, sending cards goes with the season’s joyous vision.
Although messages today still carry Horsley’s word play—A merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You—people strive to find new ways to make that Yuletide connection.
Take the one that took my fancy; a card that’s really a picture frame to tuck a photo of you and your lovey-dovey—a novel way to keep the year-round cheer; and there’s a card that turns into a 3-D Christmas tree so dear.
Traditional Madonnas, poinsettias and mangers are still the popular selections although witty or cute ones are also good options.
You may do your greeting with a card that hints at money or give a non-Christmas card, a tear-off bookmarker with a friendship bracelet for your honey.
Cards with a conscience can be had, like those crafted by prison inmates; Unicef cards that help feed the hungry; and Philippine Business for Social Progress cards to reforest a mountain.
The fountain of love can also water your creativity. Why not make your own card using recycled paper and stars for trimming? That will maximize the meaning.
For the cyber-minded, there’s a twist too hard to resist. They call them electronic cards and they’re awesome. With a click of the mouse, handsome angels really flap their wings, and Christmas teddy bears do silly things.
Whatever way you decide to say your message fast, let me share this Christmas card story I have saved for last.
I like the old fashioned way any day; a card I can take with me everywhere I go, like the one I’ve kept in my Grandma Ysabel’s wooden sewing box.
It was the Age of Aquarius in 1971, if you ask, and I remember her name. Dinky Belga, my chum, wrote these lines that still make my heart hum: “Friends like you have a special way of making it Christmas every day. You are so kind to me.”
They remind me that it was kindness that made God give us His only Son to save us. It’s for free unlike the Christmas card that turns into a tree. |
