In Roman times, it became the celebrations honoring Saturnus (the harvest god) and Mithras (the ancient god of light), a form of sun worship that had come to Rome from Syria a century before with the cult of Sol Invictus. It announced that winter is not forever, that life continues, and an invitation to stay in good spirit.

The first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere occurs between the 20th and 22nd of December. The Roman celebrated Saturnalia between 17 and 24 December.

The early Christians

To avoid persecution during the Roman pagan festival, early Christians decked their homes with Saturnalia holly. As Christian numbers increased and their customs prevailed, the celebrations took on a Christian observance. But the early church actually did not celebrate the birth of Christ in December until Telesphorus, who was the second Bishop of Rome from 125 to 136AD, declared that Church services should be held during this time to celebrate “The Nativity of our Lord and Saviour.” However, since no-one was quite sure in which month Christ was born, Nativity was often held in September, which was during the Jewish Feast of Trumpets (modern-day Rosh Hashanah). In fact, for more than 300 years, people observed the birth of Jesus on various dates.

In the year 274 AD, solstice fell on 25th December. Roman Emperor Aurelian proclaimed the date as “Natalis Solis Invicti,” the festival of the birth of the invincible sun. In 320 AD, Pope Julius I specified the 25th of December as the official date of the birth of Jesus Christ.

AD is short for Anno Domini, or “Year of our Lord,” as proclaimed by the Roman Catholic Church. Some non-Christians prefer the alternative designation “CE” for “Common Era.”

Christmas official, but not generally observed

In 325AD, Constantine the Great, the first Christian Roman emperor, introduced Christmas as an immovable feast on 25 December. He also introduced Sunday as a holy day in a new 7-day week, and introduced movable feasts (Easter). In 354AD, Bishop Liberius of Rome officially ordered his members to celebrate the birth of Jesus on 25 December.

However, even though Constantine officiated 25 December as the birthday of Christ, Christians, recognizing the date as a pagan festival, did not share in the emperor’s good meaning. Christmas failed to gain universal recognition among Christians until quite recently. In England, Oliver Cromwell banned Christmas festivities between 1649 and 1660 through the so-called Blue Laws, believing that Christmas should be a solemn day.

When many Protestants escaped persecution by fleeing to the colonies all over the world, interest in joyous Christmas celebrations was rekindled there. Still, Christmas was not even a legal holiday until the 1800s. And, keep in mind, there was no Father Christmas (Santa Claus) figure at that time.

Christmas becomes popular

The popularity of Christmas was spurred on in 1820 by Washington Irving’s book The Keeping of Christmas at Bracebridge Hall. In 1834, Britain’s Queen Victoria brought her German husband, Prince Albert, into Windsor Castle, introducing the tradition of the Christmas tree and carols that were held in Europe to the British Empire. A week before Christmas in 1834, Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol (in which he wrote that Scrooge required Cratchit to work, and that the US Congress met on Christmas Day). It was so popular that neither the churches nor the governments could not ignore the importance of Christmas celebrations. In 1836, Alabama became the first state in the US to declare Christmas a legal holiday. In 1837, T.H. Hervey’s The Book of Christmas also became a best seller. In 1860, American illustrator Thomas Nast borrowed from the European stories about Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children, to create Father Christmas (Santa Claus). In 1907, Oklahoma became the last US state to declare Christmas a legal holiday. Year by year, countries all over the world started to recognize Christmas as the day for celebrating the birth of Jesus.

Have a merry Christmas

Today, many of the pagan uses are reflected in Christmas. Jesus was born in March, yet his birth is celebrated on December 25, the time of solstice. The Christmas celebrations end the 12th day of Christmas (January 6), the same amount of days that the return of the sun was celebrated by ancient and Roman pagans. It thus is no surprise that Christian puritans – or even conservative Christians – often are upset that Christmas “is not as religious as it was meant to be,” forgetting that Christmas was not celebrated at all until fairly recently.

The 25th of December is celebrated as the birth date of Jesus Christ. The Bible does not mention Christmas, and early Christians did not observe the birthday of Christ. Christmas as we know it became widely popular only in the 19th Century.

Christmas starts on December 25 and ends 12 days later on January 6 with the Feast of Epiphany also called “The Adoration of the Magi” or “The Manifestation of God.”

The concept of “Peace and Joy” over the Christmas season originates from the pagan believe in the magical powers of mistletoe. Enemies meeting under a mistletoe had to call truce until the following day.

In Finland and Sweden an old tradition prevails, where the twelve days of Christmas are declared to be time of civil peace by law. It used to be that a person committing crimes during this time would be liable to more stiff sentence than normal.

An early Christmas card

During the Middle Ages, many churches were built in honor of Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children. Wearing his red and white bishop’s robes, he would ride on a donkey to deliver gifts to children. In 1860, illustrator Thomas Nast introduced Santa Claus in the fashion we now know him.

The meaning of the word “Christmas”

The word “Christmas” means “Mass of Christ,” later shortened to “Christ-Mass.” The even shorter form “Xmas” – first used in Europe in the 1500s – is derived from the Greek alphabet, in which X is the first letter of Christ’s name: Xristos, therefore “X-Mass.”

Today we know that Christ was not born on the 25th of December. The date was chosen to coincide with the pagan Roman celebrations honoring Saturnus (the harvest god) and Mithras (the ancient god of light), a form of sun worship. These celebrations came on or just after the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, to announce that winter is not forever, that life continues, and an invitation to stay in good spirit.

The Magi
The Magi were astrologers and probably came from Persia or southern Arabia. They are believed to be linked with the priesthood of Zoroastrianism, who practiced astrology. The 5th Century BC historian Herodotus attested to the astrological prowess of the priests of Persia. (The Bible does not give the number of magi that visited Jesus. The number of three was derived from the three (types of) gifts they presented.) Which star did the Magi follow?

In ancient astrology, the giant planet Jupiter was styled as the King’s Planet, representing the highest god and ruler of the universe: Marduk to the Babylonians; Zeus to the Greeks; Jupiter to the Romans. The ringed planet Saturn was deemed the shield of Palestine, while the constellation of Pisces, which was also associated with Syria and Palestine, represented epochal events. Jupiter encountering Saturn in Pisces would have meant that a divine and cosmic ruler was to appear in Palestine.

The astronomer Kepler noted in the early 17th century that every 805 years, Jupiter and Saturn come into conjunction, with Mars joining the configuration a year later. Since Kepler, astronomers have computed that for ten months in 7BC, Jupiter and Saturn traveled very close to each other in the night sky, and in May, September, and December of that year, they were conjoined. Mars joined the configuration in February of 6BC.

The Chinese had more exact and more complete astronomical records than the astrologers of the Middle East, particularly in their tabulations of comets and novae. In 1871, astronomer John Williams published an authoritative list of comets derived from Chinese annuals. Over March and April 5BC, Comet No. 52 on the Williams list appeared for some 70 days near the constellation Capricorn, and would have been visible in both the Far and Middle East. As each night wore on, the comet would seem to have moved westward across the southern sky. This could have been the Magi’s astral marker. Comet No. 53 on the Williams list is a tailless comet – which could have been a nova – that appeared over March and April in 4BC in constellation Aquila, which was also visible all over the East.

The star that the Magi followed – the Star of Bethlehem – could be any of the astral markers that appeared in 6, 5 and 4BC.

The shepherds

Luke 2: 8: “And there were shepherds living out in the fields near by, keeping watch over their flocks at night.”

In Palestine – as in the rest of the Middle East at the time – shepherds stayed with their flocks in the fields only from Spring to Autumn. They brought their sheep in during the winter to protect them from the cold and rain. It is thus unlikely that the shepherds went to Bethlehem in December.

The Bible does not mention the celebration of Christ’s birthday, and the early Christians seem not to have celebrated His birthday. However, to avoid persecution, they would hang holly on their doors during December just as the Roman pagans did for Saturnalia, their feasts honoring their god of harvest. Likewise, in September, during the Jewish Feast of Trumpets (modern-day Rosh Hashanah), they would borrow some of the custom to protect themselves, carrying on with their own customs behind closed doors. This added to the speculation that early Christians celebrated the birth of Christ in September. It is noted that Jerusalem swelled from about 100,000 people to over 1 million during the Feast of the Trumpets, which meant that there would have been little room at the inns of Jerusalem and the surrounding towns.

The dating of the founding of Rome

In the 6th Century, the Roman monk-mathematician-astronomer named Dionysis Exeguus (Dionysis the Little) reformed the calendar to pivot around the birth of Christ. He dated the Nativity 753 years from the founding of Rome, calculated to the date King Herod died. But Dionysis miscalculated, because Herod died only 749 years after the founding of Rome, thus 4BC.

Herod, who ordered all the babies in Bethlehem younger than 2 years killed, was, of course, alive when the Magi visited the baby Jesus. So we know that Jesus was born in or before 4BC, as astronomers point out when referring to the Star of Bethlehem.

Early Christian appear not to have celebrated the birth of Christ.
In fact, Christmas became widely popular only in the 19th Century.

Matthew 2: 1-2: After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi came from the east to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”

Christ’s birth in Bethlehem about 2000 years ago is celebrated on 25th of December. But the early Christians appear not to have celebrated Christ’s birthday. In fact, unlike with Easter, there is no New Testament record of Christmas celebrations, and no date is given for the Nativity. The 25th of December was introduced as Christ’s birthday only in 320AD.

The Greek term us in the Bible for star, “aster”, can mean any luminous heavenly body, including a comet, meteor, nova, or planet.

Christmas today

The reference to the birth of Jesus “two thousand years ago” is wrong in two ways: a. there was no year 0, thus on year 2000 we have had only 1998 years since Dionysis (incorrectly) calculated the year of the Nativity. b. Dionysis’s calculation was off by at least 5 years, as mentioned above.

In the year 274AD, solstice fell on 25th of December, and Roman Emperor Aurelian proclaimed the date as “Natalis Solis Invicti,” the festival of the birth of the invincible sun. In 320 AD, Pope Julius I specified the 25th of December as the official date of the birth of Jesus Christ. In 325AD, Constantine the Great, the first Christian Roman emperor, introduced Christmas as an immovable feast on 25 December. In 354AD, Bishop Liberius of Rome officially ordered his members to celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25.

In some parts of the Roman Empire (mostly the Eastern parts), solstice was celebrated on January 6, the last festival day for those who started solstice on December 25. (Saturnalia was held over 12 days.) The Orthodox Churches of Eastern Europe celebrate Christmas on January 6 while those elsewhere celebrate Christmas on December 25, with the figure of Father Christmas having become the symbol  for the celebration.

Merry Christmas!

The most likely year that Jesus was born, is 6BC, probably in the month of March. There was no year 0 (zero) recorded, so the 2nd millennium celebration of the birth of Jesus should have been held in March 1995. But considering that Nativity was not celebrated at all for the first 300-or-so years, and that Christmas became widely popular only in the 19th Century, it remains remarkable that the birthday of Jesus Christ today is one of the biggest industries in the world. A rather apt acknowledgment.

During the Middle Ages, many churches were built in honor of Saint Nicholas. In the 11th century, his remains were enshrined in a church in the Italian city of Bari. It is told that the first Crusaders visited Bari and carried stories about Nicholas to their homelands. The anniversary of his death, 6 December, became a day to exchange gifts.

During the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, Martin Luther tried to stop the venerating of saints and the feast of Saint Nicholas was abolished in some European countries. The gift giver took on other names: in Germany, he became Der Weinachtsmann (“Christmas Man”), Pre Nol in France, Father Christmas in Britain and the colonies, and many other names.

Santa Claus in New York

The Dutch, under Peter Stuyvesant, founded New York – named New Amsterdam under the Dutch and renamed when the British took over the colony – and brought with them the celebrations of Sinterklaas, the Dutch name for Saint Nicholas. Santa Claus is the American pronunciation of Sinter Klaas and now you can even rent or buy a Santa Claus suit of your own.

As early as 1773 “St. A. Claus” was mentioned in the American press. In 1809, Washington Irving (the author of “Tales from Sleepy Hollow”) wrote about Sinterklaas in his “A History of New York.” Irving described Sinterklaas as a rotund little man in a typical Dutch costume, with knee breeches and a broad-brimmed hat, who traveled on horseback on the Eve of Saint Nicholas. In 1822, Clement Clark Moore, a poet and professor of theology, published the poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” (also known as “The Night Before Christmas”). Moore’s Santa is a jolly old elf who flies around in a miniature sleigh with eight tiny reindeer. Moore even named the reindeer by the names we know them today, and the method by which Santa returns up the chimney.

Thomas Nast, the illustrator and caricaturist who created the donkey and elephant images to depict the US Democratic and Republican parties, contributed his own vision of Santa for Harper’s Weekly magazine from 1860 until the late 1880s. Nast depicted Santa in a red, fur-trimmed suit and a wide leather belt. Each year he added more details to his version of the Santa legend, including the home-workshop at the North Pole and the Naughty & Nice list.

Santa Claus in the North Pole

In 1885, Nast sketched two children looking at a map of the world and tracing Santa’s journey from the North Pole to the United States. The following year, the American writer, George P. Webster, took up this idea, explaining that Santa’s toy factory and “his house, during the long summer months, was hidden in the ice and snow of the North Pole.”

In 1931 Haddon Sundblom presented Santa as a plump human rather than an elf, with a jovial face and big beard in a Coca-Cola advertisement. (Coca-Cola was a client of Sundblom’s advertising agency from 1924 to until his death in 1976.) Today, it is Sundblom’s Santa that slips down chimneys around the world.

Santa’s address discovered

In 1925, it was discovered that there are no reindeer at the North Pole. There are, however, lots of reindeer in Lapland, Finland. In 1927, the great secret of Santa’s address was revealed by Markus Rautio (“Uncle Markus”) who compered the popular “Children’s hour” on Finnish public radio. He declared that Father Christmas lives on Lapland’s Korvatunturi Mountain.

Korvatunturi – literally “Mount Ear” is in the Savukoski county, Lapland, Finland, on the Finnish-Russian border. At 500 m (1,640 ft) high, it actually is only a big hill. But its three summits points to the answer the children of the world had been asking for years: “Yes, there really is a Father Christmas (Santa Claus).” And his official Post Office is in the town of Napapiiri, near Rovaniemi, near the Korvatunturi mountain. The mountain itself is out of bounds to people.

There are more than 2,700 languages in the world, with more than 7,000 dialects. Santa speaks all of them fluently! In addition, he speaks a secret elf language.

The figure of Father Christmas (Santa Claus) that we know today was introduced by artist Haddon Sundblom in advertisements for the Coca-Cola Company. In affect, the Coca-Cola Company has, over the decades, brought joy to millions of children around the world. A truly remarkable feat.

This web property and its affiliates are in no way affiliated with Coca-Cola. The content of this material is not sponsored or authorised by Coca-Cola in any way. The Coca-Cola Company. The Coca-Cola Company is the owner of the trademarks Coca-Cola, Coke, the design of the contour bottle and of Coca-Cola advertisements.

The wise men, the Magi, were astrologers and probably came from Persia or southern Arabia. They are believed to be linked with the priesthood of Zoroastrianism, who practiced astrology. The historian Herodotus (5th Century BC) attested to the astrological prowess of the priests of Persia.

Psalm 72 speaks of how the Gentiles will come to worship the Messiah: “The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts, the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute. All kings shall pay Him homage, all nations shall serve Him” (72:10-11). Isaiah also prophesied the gifts: “Caravans of camels shall fill you, dromedaries from Midian and Ephah; all from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of the Lord” (Isaiah 60:6).

The names of the Magi

In 735 AD, St. Bede identified the magi in a work called the Excerpta et Collectanea: “The magi were the ones who gave gifts to the Lord. The first is said to have been Melchior, an old man with white hair and a long beard, who offered gold to the Lord as to a king. The second, Gaspar by name, young and beardless and ruddy complexioned, honored Him as God by his gift of incense, an oblation worthy of divinity. The third, black-skinned and heavily bearded, named Balthasar… by his gift of myrrh testified to the Son of Man who was to die.” An excerpt from a Medieval saints calendar printed in Cologne reads: “Having undergone many trials and fatigues for the Gospel, the three wise men met at Sewa (Sebaste in Armenia) in 54 (AD) to celebrate the feast of Christmas. Thereupon, after the celebration of Mass, they died: St. Melchior on 1st of January, aged 116; St. Balthasar on 6th of January, aged 112; and St. Gaspar on 11th of January, aged 109.” The Roman martyrology also lists these dates as the Magi’s feast days. The 12 days of Christmas ends on 6 January with the Feast of Epiphany also called “The Adoration of the Magi” or the day of the Three Kings.

The Bible clearly states that the visit of the Magi to Jesus was not on the night of his birth, unlike the shepherds’ visit to the manger, but occurred later when Jesus was staying in a house in Bethlehem.

Then came Father Christmas

The most famous gift giver is Father Christmas (Santa Claus or Sinterklaas), based on the character of St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children. But because the celebration of Christmas was not always appreciated, and because the origin of Christmas festivities are found in pagan festivals, there are many other gift givers. In communist Russia, where Christianity was outlawed, St. Nicholas became Grandfather Frost, dressed in blue instead of the traditional Christmas red. In early Europe, where old pagan traditions survived before they gradually took on the Christian meaning, festivities were held to ward of evil spirits. The Yule Buck, for instance, did not give presents but demanded them.

Italy had a female Santa, called La Befana. In parts of Russia, gifts were distributed by Babouschka, a grandmotherly figure. In Germany, the Christkind, an angelic messenger from Jesus, a beautiful fair haired girl with a shining crown of candles, delivered the gifts.

In some countries, the baby Jesus delivers the gifts, in others, the three wise men. But in most countries, the recently created jolly round Father Christmas (Santa Claus) does the honours.

Matthew 2: 1-2: After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi came from the east to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”

The three gifts of the Magi had a prophetic meaning: gold, the gift for a king; incense, the gift for a priest; and myrrh, a burial ointment as a gift for one who would die.

The custom of the Magi following the star is still celebrated:
In Bavaria and Austria, beginning with New Years and through January 6, children dress as kings, and holding up a large star, go from door to door, carolling and singing a Three Kings song, for which they receive money or sweets.

The Festival of the Star is also held in Poland. Right after the Christmas Eve meal, the village priest, acts as the “Star Man” and tests the children’s knowledge of religion.

In Alaska, boys and girls carry a star shaped figure from house to house, singing carols.

In Hungary, a star-shaped pattern is carved in a half of an apple and is suppose to bring good luck.

When Christmas became popular again as a festive season in the middle-1800s, Scandinavian writers such as Thile, Toplius, Rydberg sketched the gnomes’ true role in modern life: fairies that are somewhat mischievous, but the true friends and helpers of Father Christmas (Santa Claus). They are the Christmas elves. Artists such as Hansen and Nystrm completed the picture of elves for us.

Living in Lapland

At one stage it was thought that the elves live in Father Christmas‘ (Santa’s) village in North Pole. However, in 1925 it was discovered that there are no reindeer in the North Pole but there are lots in Lapland, Finland. Nobody has actually seen their village because the passage to it is a secret that is known only to Father Christmas and the elves. We know that it is somewhere on the Korvatunturi mountain in the Savukoski county of Lapland, Finland, which is on the Finnish-Russian border.

On January 6 the elves light up their torches and come down from their secret village in the mountain to play in a secret field to celebrate the last day of Christmas.

The names of the elves

The elves are the children of Gryla and Leppaludi, their father and mother. Some people say that there are 13 elves, some say 9, some 6. They are very clever and help Father Christmas to design the toys that children and grownups order by post, email or textingl. We know at least 6 of the duties they have, including looking after the reindeer. Here it is with their Westernised names:

Bushy Evergreen is the inventor of the magic toymaking machine.

Shinny Upatree is Father Christmas’s (Santa’s) oldest friend and cofounder of the secret village in Lapland.

Wunorse Openslae designed Father Christmas’s sleigh and maintains it for top performance. (It is believed that the reindeer reach speeds faster than Christmas tree lights.) He also cares for the reindeer.

Pepper Minstix is the guardian of the secret of the location of Father Christmas’s village.

Sugarplum Mary is Head of the Sweat Treats, and assistant to Father Christmas’s wife, Mrs Claus, also known as Mary Christmas.

Alabaster Snowball is very important. He is the Administrator of the Naughty & Nice list.

Old Icelandic tales gave the names of the elves as:
Askasleikir
Bjugnakraekir
Faldafeykir
Stekkjarstaur
Gattathefur
Giljagaur
Gluggagaegir
Ketkrokur
og Kertasnikir
Pottasleikir
Skyrjarmur
Stufur
Thvorusleikir

In some books, elves have other names:
Baggalutur
Bjalmans barnid
Bjalminn sjalfur
Bitahaengir
Frodusleikir
Laekjaraegir
Raudur
Redda
Sledda
Steingrimur
Syrjusleikir
Tifill
Tutur

Long ago, Father Christmas and the elves discovered the special formula of Magical Reindeer Dust which make them fly. This dust is sprinkled on each of the reindeer shortly before they leave on Christmas eve. It gives them enough magic to fly right around the world. They can fly very fast: at about the speed of a Christmas light.

Names of the Christmas reindeer

Rudolph is the most famous reindeer. He is the leader of the other 8, whose names are Blitzen, Comet, Cupid, Dancer, Dasher, Donder, Prancer, and Vixen.

The names of the 8 reindeer were published by Clement Clark Moore, an American poet and professor of theology, in his 1822 poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas.” Rudolph was first written about only in 1939 by Robert May, who included him in a story for the Montgomery Ward Christmas catalog. (Of course, the elves knew their names long, long before Moore and May did.)

The reindeer are cared for by one of the Christmas elves, Wunorse Openslae. He also designed Father Christmas’s sleigh and maintains it for top performance.

On Christmas eve the reindeer are sprinkled with the magic dust that gives them enough magic to fly right around the world. They can fly at the speed of a Christmas light.

Christmas factoids

There are 34 “Reindeer” place names in the US; 27 are located in Alaska.

Long ago, when Rudolph was just a young deer, his nose was touched by Christmas Magic, and since that day his nose has glowed bright red!

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer
Had a very shiny nose,
And if you ever saw him,
You would even say it glows.

All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names,
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games.

Then one foggy Christmas
eve Santa came to say:
“Rudolph with your nose so bright,
Won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?”

Then all the reindeer loved him
As they shouted out with glee,
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer,
You’ll go down in history!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLf0DDt3Xiw

John Callcott Horsley (1817 – 1903), a British narrative painter and a Royal Academician, designed the first Christmas and New Year’s card at the suggestion and request of his friend Sir Henry Cole, who was the first director of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Horsley designed the first Christmas card in 1840, but it went on sale only in 1843, when one thousand cards were offered for 1s each.

The card was not received without controversy, for it showed a family raising their glasses to toast Christmas. Puritans immediately denounced it. The idea was a hit with others. Christmas card became very popular, and other artists quickly followed Horsley’s concept. A particularly popular card was designed by English artist William Egley in 1849.

The first Christmas cards were printed in 1843 in lithography by Jobbins of Warwick Court, Holborn, London, and hand-coloured by an artist named Mason. They were lithographed on stiff cardboard, with the greeting, “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You.” It also states that is was “Published at Summerly’s Home Treasury Office, 12 Old Bond Street, London.

The world’s first Christmas card

New Year’s greetings

Greeting cards were not new. Since Aloys Senefelder perfect lithography in 1796, merchants would send their customers best wishes for the new year. (Lithography is the technique by which large numbers of drawings or texts first drawn on a finely-textured stone could be reproduced on paper.) Christmas cards gradually replaced New Year’s card, except in France, where there was a preference to the latter.

Father Christmas on Christmas cards

The first greeting card produced in the US was by German lithographer, Louis Prang, who emigrated to New York around 1850. Prang set up a workshop in Boston, Massachusetts in 1860 and began to produce the first colour cards with scenes of winter tales for Christmas and New Year.

During the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln requested a political cartoonist, Thomas Nast, to illustrate Santa Christmas (Santa Claus) with the Union troops to bolster their spirits. Nast was the first to introduce a Father Christmas in the now-traditional red suit and big leather belt.

Today, greeting cards is a multi-billion dollar industry supplying cards for just about any occasion.