With the appearance of high-tech in our lives, people are less likely to exchange letters and paper postcards, preferring communication on the web.

New Year, more precisely, Christmas cards, which are familiar to us, are more than 200 years old and the card appeared more than 2,000 years ago.

The history of New Year cards traces back to the Ancient China where two millennia ago on the first day following the New Year people had to congratulate those whom they did not manage to see during the holiday with red cards. On the eve of the holiday, a small bag near was installed near the doors specifically for this cards.

However, the tradition of Christmas cards exchangee appeared in England much later. It is considered that the first Christmas card was created by the English artist Dobson in 1794. He portrayed  snowy winter forest and a happy family near a Christmas tree and presented it to his friend.

The first commercial Christmas card was published also in England in 1840. It featured the artwork of John Callcott Horsley, a painter of the Royal Academy of Arts, and was created for his friend Henry Cole as a gift for Cole’s relatives.

John Callcott Horsley designed a card  with a true Christmas triptych. The central picture showed three generations of the family of Sir Henry, sitting at the Christmas table, and on the sides placed pictures on the theme of mercy and compassion, with food and clothing being given to the poor. At the bottom was the signature: “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you!”                    

The first Christmas cards came to Russia from England in 1890s. Merchants purchased blank cards without greetings in foreign language, and had them inscribed by hand in Russian. This increased the cost of cards that were sold for a ruble or more each, making them affordable only for wealthy people. Later cards were printed abroad, mostly in Germany, ordered by major bookshops especially for Russia.