Christmas Day

Merry Christmas, one and all!

Christmas Eve

In my friend's entire collection of Christmas postcards, very few had any sort of reference to the Joseph and Mary, or shephards, or the birth of Jesus.

Except these three. They were made somtime between 1907 and 1912. Whatever your spiritual calling, the story of Jesus is about love and peace.

Love and peace to all, this Christmas Eve!

Christmas Eve Eve - Christmas in 1910

Crazy days and I suppose I've been giving short shrift to the copy on my posts. Christmas Eve Eve, and the frenzy is rising!

In all theses old postcards, there are very few images of angels. I love that in older images of angels, like the one to the right, the angels are most often blond!

Additional Christmas Flora - 1909

Two more cards from Christmas 100 years ago, neither of which features holly, but do feature poinsettias and cherries.

A while back, I researched a variety of Christmas symbols and their origins, for possible use in Christmas retail advertising. I learned a lot about the poinsettia. Did you know that the poinsettia is native to Mexico, and was called "Cuetlaxochitl" by the Aztecs who used the sap to control fevers and the bracts (leaves) to make a reddish dye? Or that the plant was introduced to the US by Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States Ambassador to Mexico, in 1828. He took cuttings from the plant and brought them back to his greenhouse in South Carolina. Or even that 80% of poinsettias are grown in California, with the great majority sold in the six weeks before Christmas? There is a website, The Poinsettia Pages, which shows more history and poinsettia facts.

Cherries didn't come up in my research then, so I wondered about their significance, especially in that they are quintessentially such a summer fruit. Geo-centrism strikes again. Given my northern hemisphere location, it didn't cross my mind to think of summertime Christmases, but in Australia, they are a part of a Christmas dinner. Then I stumbled across a story which includes a Christmas miracle (the cherries), a famous King (King Arthur), and a bit of just desserts (in the metaphorical sense). Give it a quick read: "Sir Cleges and The Christmas Cherries".

Christmas 1909 - Holly Days

Don't know what happened in 1908, but there are no Christmas postcards from that year in my friend's collection. These are all from 1909.

Two things I notice. One is that all cards feature holly in some way, thus today's title. Two, the X is used as an abbreviation for the "Christ" in Christmas. I thought that was a more modern development, but I guess not.

Christmas from Russian 2009

Christmas in Russia! This card arrived this week from Irena, through Post Crossing. I don't know what the greeting says on the front, but I love the image.

More Christmas 1907

More Christmas 1907, without the backs of the cards. Some of these have messages on the front (the two on the right) and some on the back.

I find the pine cone as spaceship card a bit bizarre, especially the catatonic looks on the kids' faces, but love the candle to the left. The message on that card is written in a Scandinavian language, probably Swedish. I think my friend whose cards these are is of Swedish descent. If you double click on the card on the right, you can see a man trudging home with a load of wood, across a small bridge.

Christmas 1907

Here's an unusual card from 1907. On the front of the card is a little teensy envelope, and inside that card is a little message. Both are shown here.

The card is embossed as well, which you can see better when you look at the address side of the card, as opposed to the front. Double click on any of the images, and you'll be able to see the beautiful detail better.

It's Postcard Friendship Friday, so if you get a chance, check out some of the other postcard blogs by clicking here.

Christmas Cards

My friend Debra keeps me supplied with very old (1906 through about 1912) seasonal postcards, from her family in Wisconsin. It was she who provided the old Thanksgiving and Halloween cards posted earlier.

For the next few days, I'll post a few of her Christmas cards, starting with these from 1906. Imagine that. There must be 100 Christmas postcards from these years; unfortunately about half of them don't appear to have been mailed (no stamps, no postmarks) even if they do have writing on them.

Here are the three from 1906. The one with the birds is included as moral support for my cousin, Nancy, who is going to be leading the national bird count in her area on Saturday. Go, Nancy!

Christmas Spirit

I will get in the Christmas spirit. I will get in the Christmas spirit. I will get in the Christmas spirit. (Tap heels of red shoes three times.)

Found this postcard from about 20 years ago. I have been racking my brain trying to remember who the sender was. Was it the nurse who worked in Saudi Arabia, who we met scuba diving in Thailand? Was it somebody I met on a plane? Did we work together somewhere, sometime? Would all the people I've ever met in my life, if laid end to end, replicate the transcontinental railway? circle the globe?