The custom of sending Christmas cards started in Britain in 1840 when the first 'Penny Post' public postal deliveries began. (Helped by the new railway system, the public postal service was the 19th century's communication revolution, just as email is for us today.) As printing methods improved, Christmas cards were produced in large numbers from about 1860. They became even more popular in Britain when a card could be posted in an unsealed envelope for one half-penny - half the price of an ordinary letter.Traditionally, Christmas cards showed religious pictures - Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, or other parts of the Christmas story. Today, pictures are often jokes, winter pictures, Father Christmas, or romantic scenes of life in past times.What the penny post was to people in the 1800's the internet is to us today. I am receiving more 'ecards' every year.But every year, our family goes through a ritual of getting just the right photo for the card. I used to get the photo taken, card made (by hand) and then addressed and stamped and in the mail by the first part of December-- right after the Thanksgiving break. I had a friend call and thank me this year for not getting my card to her mailbox by December 1! Not that i didn't try. But as children grow older, have their own lives and OPINIONS, it just isn't that easy. Here is a look at some of the antics we went through (using the timer on the camera because this year, we also neglected to get a photographer)
