The modern Christmas is made up of an amalgam of traditions which have been built up over centuries. Two of those traditions, considered essential to the holiday season, are Christmas cards and Christmas crackers.
American Christmas Cards
According to “The American Christmas” by James Harwood Barnett, published by Ayer Co. Publishers in 1984, “Louis Prang of Boston placed this type of card on the American market in 1875.” He had begun to sell Christmas cards to the general popular market in England in 1873 and banking on his success there he introduced the idea to America. Although Prang is often considered to be the father of the American Christmas card, he is not the originator of this popular and successful idea. That title lies with Sir Henry Cole of England.
The First Christmas Card
Sir Henry Cole was born in England in 1808 and began his career at the age of 15. He became very successful and was very popular and acquired many friends with whom he liked to keep in touch, especially at Christmas. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography states “It may be that the cheap penny post was Cole's inspiration in commissioning and publishing the first Christmas card in 1843. The card depicted a family at table making a toast. Designed by J. C. Horsley RA, it was lithographed and hand colored, selling at the considerable price of 1s (US$0.06).”
Christmas Card Controversy
The idea was not an immediate success. The card measured approximately 5” x 3” – similar to the ones available today and the image on the card showed a Victorian family sitting around the Christmas dinner table drinking wine. The glasses were being raised to absent friends The History of Greeting Cards by Emotions Greeting Card Company states “The card drew criticism because showing a child enjoying a sip of wine was considered fostering the moral corruption of children.”
Christmas Crackers
Christmas crackers are nowadays taken for granted as being part of every Christmas scene and party and they have acquired fanciful decoration. However they started off from an idea by a London baker and confectioner named Tom Smith. The Real History of Tom Smith and the Christmas Cracker details how Tom Smith used to sell unwrapped sweets in his shop, but on a visit to France he saw sweets wrapped in colored paper and thought he might introduce the idea to his own shop. To increase sales and profits he thought up the idea of wrapping little novelties and toys in colored paper with twisted ends, but this had only limited success.
According to the International Crackers’ website The Origins of the Christmas Cracker, Tom Smith was inspired to put a crackling device which caused a bang into his wrapped novelties after he heard a log crackling on his open fire. He used the gunpowder compound saltpeter to ignite by friction two strips of paper to produce the sound and redesigned the packaging to resemble a log to produce what is known today as a Christmas cracker.
Crackers and Cards
Like holly and mistletoe, Christmas crackers and Christmas cards have captured the festive imagination worldwide with millions upon millions of each being sold every year.
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