The history of the New Year post card

The history of the New Year post card originates from the times of ancient China…more than 1000 years ago. The ancestors of the contemporary Chinese presented cards to each other, but they indicated only the name of person, who visited the host, but did not find him at home.

Initially there were the inscriptions on the cards and then – the greetings. The wishes on these cards were various – most of all people wished happiness, health, longevity and prosperity.

The custom to give New Year card to each other is considered to appear in England. The first person, who sent the New Year post card, was the Englishman Henry Cole, greeting his friends to the coming year of 1843. Later he addressed his friend John Garsley and asked him to create the New Year post card. That sketch was the start to the lot of thousand New Year cards.

Since then the world was captured by the custom to greet the friends and relatives by means of New Years post cards.

In the Russia’s New Year cards there were depicted the views of Russian winter nature with snowy houses, as well as Russian troika (coach-and-three).

Ukrainian New Year card were similar to the Russian ones, but still the scenery was different and there were many war colors and bright images.

Years later there emerged the different national traditions. For example in Japan there is the custom to give the cards with the image of the animal, the symbol of the coming New Year. In Austria there is the tradition to send New Year cards with the national symbols of happiness: these are chimneysweep, four-sheeted clover and pig.

And the owner of the largest collection of New Year cards is the Canadian Butt, who managed to collect 205 120 samples.

Nowadays, there are a lot of different cards: metal, silk, holography. The New Year cards with the relief, volume and musical ones are the usual thing now. The web New Year cards are also of great popularity now. So, it’s not a problem to find or create the greeting card, just think what to wish and whom to give them.