Is your Christmas card list up to date? Christmas Card Day is a December 9 holiday. This holiday honors Sir Henry Cole (1818 – 1874) of England. Cole created the first commercial Christmas Card in 1843. It grew into a popular holiday tradition. People created a list of all friends and family members. The number of cards you received became a source of pride. And, you had to send a card out to everyone who sent you one. As a result, the list grew year after year. Some people had a list of 50 to 100 people or more. The cards were prominently displayed on walls and sometimes hung on a string across the room. It became a holiday decoration of sorts.

Just a few decades ago, sending Christmas cards through the mail was a holiday “must”. Now, sending cards through the mail continues decline in popularity. The cost of postage is a major expenditure that stretches the holiday budget. And, the time spent writing and sending them during the hectic holiday season adds to the stress of an already busy season. As a result, more and more stop sending them entirely. Yet, others have cut down their lists to just a choice few.

On the other hand, as mailed Christmas cards continually decline every year, free online Ecard usage is on the uptick. And, they take much less time to send. Animated Christmas and daily seasonal Ecards have made sending and receiving them a lot of fun.