When I come home for the holidays, my parents have their house bedecked in garland, lights and painted holiday nutcrackers—oh, and Christmas cards.
An entire countertop is dedicated as a shrine to glitzy cards and crinkled letters. From co-workers and neighbors to family and long-lost friends, all stay in touch with my parents around the holiday.
It’s not a one-way street. My mom spends weeks sifting through card aisles before selecting the perfect seasonal stationary. Then she clears the table, gets out her address book and her very best pen before scripting out a clever, handwritten message to each in her community.
The first Christmas card was sent in 1843. Since then, sending Christmas cards has been a grown-up tradition for decades—nay, centuries.
But that tradition is dying.
My friends don’t send Christmas cards. In fact, as an adult, I have never found a handwritten Christmas card waiting for me in my mailbox.
Where have all the Christmas cards gone?
My friends resort to posting a Merry Christmas status on Facebook or mass texting a Happy Holidays message. Nothing is personal, nothing is handwritten, nothing is meticulously timed.
I can’t complain. I have never sent a handwritten Christmas card. I haven’t posted a Merry Christmas social media status. I have never mass texted my phone contacts.
Does that make me a Scrooge?
A new trend is emerging. More and more people are donating their Christmas card funds to charity. Checks, clothes and food, even hours of time are given voluntarily during the holiday season.
For isn’t the Christmas season a time to show how much we care? Can we really choose how someone shows love? Writing Christmas cards is one of the many ways to embody the holiday spirit.
What do you think? Do you still write Christmas cards? Share your opinion below.