The first Christmas cards were sent in England in the 1840s, courtesy of the railroad system, which revolutionized, among other things, the postal industry. These early cards did not focus on traditional or religious themes of the holiday, but instead depicted flowers, animals, birds, and children.
Religious themed cards were introduced a few years later when churches and charities began sending out cards as a way of inviting people to support their cause and attend events organized to raise money for the less fortunate.
John Calcott Horsley of London is credited with the invention of the first Christmas card in 1843. He and others believed that they would be a passing fad, not realizing the tremendous impact that these little cards would have on the holiday from that point forward.
Some of the most popular early cards were trick cards, which appeared simple, but were actually intricate folded designs that opened to twice their size. Other early cards were designed to look like money and checks, and some were so realistic that they had to be withdrawn soon after being issued due to public confusion. Cards with tabs inside of them were also very popular, and a particularly risque one from the 1880s even depicted a pop up dancing girl with movable legs.
Printing improvements and inexpensive postal service made the cards so popular that by 1880 the British postal service was urging people to 'post early for Christmas. The first cards appeared in America in the 1850s and became popular in the 1870s, when lithographer Louis Prang began producing beautiful, ornate cards in the Boston area. Prang was one of the founders of the Dixon Ticonderoga paper company and helped to develop a four color printing process known as chromolithography, the first workable system with the ability to produce color in print.
Like their English predecessors, Prangs early cards did not contain religious or traditional Christmas themes, and instead depicted floral arrangements. This is due in part to Prangs own personal preferences, and to the fact that that Christmas cards at this time were more closely associated with New Years than with the actual Christmas holiday.
Today, religious and secular Christmas cards continue to be popular ways of reaching out to friends and loved ones during the holiday season. Many people have annual Christmas card lists, and many families make their annual Christmas card photo a unique and special tradition.
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