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In Britain many people send Christmas cards to their friends and relatives from late November until just before Christmas Day, 25th December. How and when did this tradition begin?

The first Christmas cards were sent over 150 years ago, in Victorian times. People began sending cards to friends and relatives.

The first person to send a Christmas card was a man called Sir Henry Cole. He was very busy and did not have time to write to friends at Christmas, so he asked the artist John Calcott Horsley (1817-1903) to design a card for him.

The card was printed in black and white and then coloured by hand.

On the front of the card there is a picture of a happy family. Each person in the picture is holding a glass of wine. On either side there are pictures of people giving food and clothing to the poor. A message on the card, beneath the family, says,

“A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU.”

A thousand copies of the card were made. The cards that Sir Henry Cole did not need were sold for one shilling each. They sold quickly, and a new “tradition” was born.

The first Christmas card

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1. Do many people send Christmas cards in Britain?

2. Did British people send each other Christmas cards 100 years ago?

3. Was Henry Cole the first person to send a Christmas card?

4. Did he have time to write to his friends at Christmas?

5. When was the first Christmas card sent in Britain?

6. Who sent it?

7. Did Sir Henry Cole design it, or did John Calcott Horsley? Elizabeth?

8. Was the card printed in colour?

9. Is there a picture of a family on the front of the card?

10. Is the family happy or miserable?

11. What is each person holding?

12. How many cards were printed?

13. How much did they cost?

14. Did they sell quickly or slowly?

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