Do you still send Christmas cards? Now that postage is 55 cents per letter and we have the internet, many have abandoned that tradition.
Or perhaps you don’t take the time to write a personal note and instead send out cards that are preprinted and addressed with a computer-generated label. I will not comment on those who send out letters that tell all the places they visited, the new car they bought, and how many scholarships their children have won.
Christmas cards began in the United Kingdom around 1843. The first cards are attributed to Sir Henry Cole. He was a government worker who was given the task of establishing a postal system. Since the cost to post a letter was about 8 cents, he needed to encourage the average person to begin to use the system. As popularity grew, the cost dropped to a penny. The first cards usually portrayed the nativity and soon caught on all over Europe.
Perhaps this is the year we all should consider reviving some traditions by sending a simple “Merry Christmas, Thinking of You!” note to those we have not heard from in some time. It could be a way of affirming that Christ came into the world to affirm love for everyone and to heal all the hurts.
Rev. Dr. Fred Leasure, Parish Associate