A co-worker several years ago told me she never sent Christmas cards because they were a waste of time and money. "No one keeps them," she said. "They just throw them away." Well, I had to agree that she might have been right about that.
But I had a wonderful teacher when it came to the "art" of Christmas cards. My dad's cousin, Pat, would SHOP every year for her Christmas cards. It was with loving tenderness and with great care she sought the card she was going to send each year. I remember going shopping with her once. I asked her what she looked for in a Christmas card and she said that it had to have a certain beauty that struck her as being really Christmas. "But why?" I asked. She told me she always wanted the card to be a real gift, not just a piece of paper that was sent in the mail. She said that with each card she addressed and signed she said a prayer for the friend or family. And at least once a year she had remembered them personally in her prayers, her gift to them. Well, that bowled that teenager over...
Ever since, I have tried to remember the lesson Pat taught me that Saturday so many years ago. When I work on the Christmas cards they are a labor of love, one in which I take a great deal of pleasure! I treasure this time with my family and friends and share that little prayer for them as Pat did. That's my Christmas card tradition and I love it.
I hope you love to send Christmas cards as I do. For this card is for All who visit here. God Bless you this Holy Season of Christmas.
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And Thanks Be to God!
And Thanks Be to God!
I find it very sad that Christmas cards seem to be dying out. I've always loved sending and receiving Christmas cards, and I do keep them! They are a very cherished part of Christmas for me. If nothing else, they are a way to stay in touch with old friends and distant family who I may not be in constant contact with, but who need to be acknowledged and updated.
ReplyDeleteI actually wrote a blog last year around this time lamenting the demise of Christmas cards, and you wouldn't believe the response. Some people were very angry, I had no idea it was such a sensitive topic.
I just finished sending all our out! And look so forward to bringing them in from the mailbox! I do hope it's not dying out! We still get many, many cards ~ but that may just be because we have so much extended family...
ReplyDeleteThank you for the beautiful Christmas wishes, GrandmaK! Our heartfelt wishes to you, too, for a season of many blessings!
I thank you both, marie and lisa, for your kind words. I to hope that Christmas cards do not become a thing of the past. I'll certainly keep them coming as long as I can. And I too love the trek to the mailbox as there is a "Christmas Surprise" in every envelop.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit I like religious cards NOT 'santa' one's.
ReplyDeleteHere in Australia our post office in January accept peoples Christmas cards for recycling. I dont know if you do that there?
Peace & JOY to you:)
Marie
Back in the Philippines when I was a little girl, I used to love to collect used Christmas cards because they had such beautiful photos and I just really loved them. Then at school we would have art projects wherein we recycle Christmas cards and write our own personal messages. I loved doing that!
ReplyDeletejoy
Norwich Daily Photo
The Goddess In You
Your Love Coach
This is lovely:0)
ReplyDeleteIt is definatly the love and thought put into an action that infuses it with meaning.
I love Christmas cards:0)
THe children and I have a tradition of making ours and putting a bible message from the nativity inside. We give these to the girls friends at school and nursery.
The cards we send our friends have to have a nativity scene on them, it's really important to me.
Sadly, this year there have been fewer of these to choose from. THey seem to have been replaced with snowmen and santas:0(
Luckily I did eventually manage to find some really lovely cards with Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus and we'll be delivering them this weekend!
God Blessxx
I love sending out Christmas Cards. Some of the ones we receive are keepers.
ReplyDeleteBTW, thanks for visiting my blog. Did you want a patron saint too? I wasn't sure.
You have a very nice blog BTW!
Cards here in Ireland are recycled locally, but it's becoming less easy to find a suitable card that depicts a nativity scene or a sincere Christmas wish, but people power works, and the more of us who buy only religious cards, the more the message will get back to the designers/ printers.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Grandmak, for your Christmas greeting, gratefully received.
I love it that so many recycle the cards or use them for other projects. We will hope that those glorious "religious" cards will again grow demand because that is why we celebrate Christmas.
ReplyDelete