Hi Friends:
Maybe it’s just me, but for some reason, I have this idea that people don’t send as many Christmas Cards as they used to. Maybe that truly is the case, especially with the introduction of those “e-cards” a few years ago. Don’t we all remember, for example, at work, there were some people who gave out Christmas Cards to almost everyone? Remember that? You did that, too?
How about that big stack of cards you sent out, every year, to everyone on “your list?”
Funny … as we get older … doesn’t that list get shorter?
Still, there is that one true horror in the “Christmas Card” biz, and it seems to happen every year, regardless of how many, or how few you send:
From out of nowhere … you get a Christmas Card … right before Christmas … from someone who wasn’t on “your list” … And … horror of horrors … it’s too late to send them one!
I think the reason I feel like people don’t send as many Christmas Cards these days is because, other than the fact that I don’t send as many … Ouch! … is that people, in general, just don’t write as many letters as they used to … Some people don’t write letters at all. Think about it. I may be one of the few guys who still writes letters … and, I don’t write very many at all. But, I still write them … occasionally. For me, I think it’s because I do so much writing through the year, in formats such as this. And, I will admit … even as a “writer,” I haven’t “penned/hand-written” a letter in a long, long time. I type them! But, admittedly, I don’t type as many as I used to, either.
Just as a final thought, think about this: Because of the way our society has changed, think of how many people there are, “out there,” who have never written a letter at all-in their entire lives. My Mom and Dad wrote letters. I wrote letters. If a Mom or Dad “out there” doesn’t write letters, what are the chances their children will? Sadly, the same equation applies for reading.
When I did the research of how many Christmas cards are sent each year, or just cards in general which are purchased, I was amazed. I couldn’t find a “now vs. then” comparison, but the number of Cards purchased each year was astounding:
According to the Greeting Card Association (GCA), 7 billion greeting cards (holiday cards, birthday cards, etc.) are sent every year in the United States.
Over 2 billion Christmas cards are sent in the United States each year. Keep in mind that the total US population is 326 Million.
Only 15% of Christmas cards sent are purchased by men.
If you’d like to read a history of Christmas cards, here is a link:
https://www.statisticbrain.com/hallmark-card-statistics/
Now, from the “Statistic Brain Research Institute,” are these numbers:
Holidays Ranked by Most Cards Sent Number of Cards Sent
1. Christmas (including boxed and individual) 1.5 billion
2. Valentine’s Day (including boxed and individual) 144 million
3. Mother’s Day 133 million
4. Fathers Day 94 million
5. Easter 57 million
6. Halloween 20 million
7. Thanksgiving 10 million
8. St. Patrick’s day 8 million
We’ve been thinking about sharing this for a while, and after finding this video which features the words, we wanted to share this with you now. Here is Jim Reeves and “An Old Christmas Card.” Notice that, while it pays homage to all cards … it is really about a particular card … from long, long ago:
pastorappreciationblog.com 