The Festive greeting card sent today as part of the traditional celebration of Christmas in order to convey between people a range of sentiments related to Christmastide and the holiday season ranging from 'I wish you a very Merry Christmas' to 'I have no idea who you are nor care if you have a Merry Christmas orif your house burns down but you sent me a card last year so i am now sending you one this year' and usually depict wintry scenes and snowmen but the first cards were not quite so cheery, they had children riding giant bats, dead robins, and a bloody battle between sword-wielding insects.
Cole began the custom of sending Christmas cards when he just couldn't face writing out long letters which was the custom of the time so he asked a designer buddy to create something with 'To' at the top, a picture in the middle and 'From' at the bottom which he sent to his grandmother and aunt.
That Cole was in charge of the newly created 'Post Office' and was promoting the penny post service to get more people to use it had nothing to do with it, it was a an act of charity, for which he sold the cards at 1 shilling each.
The first cards were not allowed to feature anything religious but were just large enough to stick money in the envelope which was a great way to let someone know that due to your jam-packed social calendar and the festive binge-drinking, you couldn't be arsed to bother buying them a present and care about them as much as the sandwich you grabbed while waiting in line to pay for the card in the supermarket.
He can therefore lay claim to two Christmas firsts, the card so you don't have to write to people and the laziest, easiest, least personal gift you can give someone which is also the one they look forward to getting the most because that removes all doubt about whether or not they'll get the right thing, cash always fits nicely.
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