Wishing cards

The French have the very sensible habit of sending their holiday cards after New Year's, when you actually have time to write them. More and more of my friends have picked up this habit, possibly from me! The only ones I've sent cards to so far are to les britanniques, who still observe the tyranny of having to get everything posted to arrive before the 24th.

I was writing some to my favorite Brits in the doctor's office, waiting for someone, when the doctor, an old friend of mine (he looked very much like Saddam Hussein till he shaved off his mustache about the time the U.S.  invaded Iraq), remarked, "Des cartes de voeux? Cela fait des années maintenant que je n'en reçois presque plus."  (Greeting cards? I've scarcely received any for years now.)

When I thought about it, I realized that here it is already  December 13th, Saint Lucy's day-- which is a big holiday in Sweden, and I hope Francis writes about it-- and I've received only two Christmas cards. One not even signed personally, from an old friend who is now a bigwig in Washington (I know you're busy; all the same, that's tacky!); the other by a friend who is a professional graphic artist who designs his own cards.

Christmas cards are dying out. I guess everyone is too busy now. Not sending cards makes sense when people can keep in touch so readily with phones and email, and I know the stress is something working mothers don't need. But it makes me sort of sad that what is dying out has to be the pleasant custom that cheers people up, rather than the overwork that is killing it.

Comments

[Alaska]

Great site. Its on my daily blog list now...

==Alaska

From Sedulia: Thanks!

[Noelia]

I like Greeting cards! And although I grew up in France, my parents had the custom of sending them every year before Christmas... The ones that were sent out after New Year were for people we had forgotten (often saying "Thanks for your card ... and Happy New Year!") cheers!

[Linda]

I feel the same way about Christmas cards. I write them because I haven't seen most of the people for years and I truly want to know how they are and what is new with them. I am so disappointed when I get a card back with no information, just a signature. I even like Christmas letters. I don't care if everyone gets the same one, just let me know how you are.
Personal letters have died out with the Internet taking its place. I used to have beautiful stationary and loved writing a letter. It was such a treat to receive a letter in the mail. I love e-mails and IM's but it just isn't the same.

[petescully]

Jeez, that is so true, I always wondered why I could always get more 'bonne annee' cards than 'joyeux noel' cards when i lived in aix. I never really thought to ask why that was. Interesting! (Also explains why christmas cards i get sent from france are always so late)
Good site, btw.

[L'Amerloque]

Hi !

/*/But it makes me sort of sad that what is dying out has to be the pleasant custom that cheers people up, rather than the overwork that is killing it./*/

Yes. It is sad, indeed. C'est très bien dit.

It is so rare to receive a Christmas card now ... probably in a few years there will be "Christmas Card Clubs" where we can unite, exchange postal addresses and send each other real, paper cards, just to keep the tradition alive ... how truly and how devastatingly sad.

Best,
L'Amerloque

[francis s.]

Sorry to not write about Lucia... I feel like I've done Lucia too much before, I don't have anything terribly new or enlightening to say about it anymore. But, if you need a fix, go back into my December archives and there are several different posts, including the Lucia song in Swedish.

As for Christmas cards, I stopped when I moved to Sweden for some reason. Which is not to say that Swedes don't send Christmas cards, they do. Although I don't know if it's something like Hallowe'en or St. Valentines that they've picked up from the Americans in their own peculiar Swedish way.