making Christmas cards
Christmas cards are a familiar sight on our door mats from mid-December onwards. Even if you haven’t seen much of each other during the year, a card wishing a merry Christmas and a happy New Year is a great way to let your loved ones know you’re thinking of them.
Sending Christmas greetings is an ancient tradition. In the Middle Ages, wood carvings of religious Christmas scenes were given to loved ones or local lords. Fortunately for postmen, today we’re happy to settle for paper and cardboard. The first real Christmas card is said to have been made in 1843 by an English artist, and showed a family celebrating Christmas with the message ‘A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You’. We also know that a bookseller in Amsterdam was selling cards with New Year's greetings in 1873.