O Christmas cards, oh those Christmas cards
As I pen this column I’m still trying to get Christmas cards in the mail.
Procrastination is my Achilles’ heel, and I pay a price. Oh yes, I have big plans. When the calendar hits October, I think to myself, “This would be a good time to start compiling my list and taking stock of my card supply.”
October seems to slip away with fall activities and yet I think to myself there is plenty of time to get this accomplished in November. Why? Because there is plenty of lead time and I can get this task accomplished over Thanksgiving.
Once again procrastination enters my mindset, then the annual question, I thought I had plenty of cards, where did they all go? I thought I had a good stock from last year and labeled them. (One good thing a year ago I did accomplish was to record and update my address list.)
A brief history lesson
According to whychristmas.org, people have been sending Christmas greetings to each other for hundreds of years. “The first recorded use of Merry Christmas was in a letter sent in 1534.
The first known item that looked like a Christmas card was given to King James of England (who was also King James VI of Scotland) in 1611. This was more like a large ornamental manuscript rather than in a card we think of them today.”
The organization noted that card had a picture of a rose in it and with a Christmas and New Year message to King James and his son was written into and around the rose. The manuscript included four poems and a song.
My own history
As a kid I marveled at how many cards my parents received every year—often coming from relatives and friends I never met. Yet my parents (yes, that was mom doing the ghost writing) found it to be important to let people know how our family was doing. Mom taught me the importance of making each one personal. She really had the gift.
Email and social media have taken the place of many Christmas and birthday cards and hand-written notes. I have taken advantage of the electronic convenience, particularly when it gets much closer to Dec. 25.
In the end it may seem like “bah, humbug,” but I’m glad to get them out, with a deep relief and a promise to do better next year, and only time will tell. Unfortunately my track record speaks for itself. Let’s face it, unless I’m willing to send out cards, I recognize that I won’t get one in return and nothing beats getting a card with hand-written sentiments.
May your card box be filled with much joy this Christmas season.
Dave Bergmeier can be reached at 620-227-1822 or [email protected].
