Christmas & Holiday Cards Around The World

Photo by Malene Thyssen

Christmas is the largest card-sending holiday in the United States with approximately 2 billion cards sent annually. In the UK there are over 7 million Christmas cards sent out. Annual e-card sending industry-wide is estimated at less than 500 million More than 20 paper cards are sent for every one e-card.

There are more than 3,000 greeting card publishers in the United States, ranging from individual studios and small family-run companies to major corporations.

Many businesses, from small local businesses to multi-national enterprises send custom printed Christmas and holiday cards to the people on their customer lists, as a way to develop general goodwill, retain brand awareness and reinforce social networks. These cards are almost always discrete and secular in design, and do not attempt to sell a product, limiting themselves to mentioning the name of the business. The practice harkens back to trade cards of the 18th century, an ancestor of the modern Christmas card.

Many organizations produce special custom printrd Christmas cards as a fundraising tool. The most famous of these enterprises is probably the UNICEF Christmas card program, launched in 1949, which selects artwork from internationally known artists for card reproduction.

From the beginning, Christmas cards have been avidly collected. Queen Mary amassed a large collection that is now housed in the British Museum. The University College of London's Slade School of Fine Art houses a collection of handmade Christmas Card.

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