The History Of The Birthday Card
It is widely accepted that birthday cards originated in England more than a century ago. Unfortunately there is no evidence of who sent the very first card and nobody knows the identity of the person who received that very first card.
A persons birthday was considered a special event and they were greeted personally by their friends and family. The people who were unable to this in person sent a birthday card instead.During this time a card was considered more of an apology than as a greeting. It was only in more recent years that birthday cards have been regarded as expressions joy.
The significance of the birthday card is to convey hope and good will to the person receiving the birthday card. People now use birthday cards as a way to tell the special person of their true feelings that they may find a little difficult to express verbally.
Today there are many card styles to choose from, catering for almost every age range, gender and taste. Many people want the card to say how much they love them or to wish them good luck in the coming year.
Humor is another type of card and is typically sent by someone who likes to laugh a lot. Many of the humorous cards relate to a subject that the recipient finds funny and over the last few years many are now of a rude nature. A lot now relate to the age of the recent and make fun of them getting older.
When people first started sending birthday cards, they would never have imaged how far the cards would evolve or what the subject matter would diversify out to. The first birthday cards that were sent never mentioned or displayed the age of the recipient.
The birthday card now falls into the category of a greeting card. The greeting card can be traced all the way back to the ancient Chinese. They would send out goodwill wish cards during the New Year. The Chinese are not the only ones who thought to do this; in Europe in the 1400s, people also exchanged homemade greeting cards which in time became a tradition.
Today there are many different birthday cards to choose from. As well as the traditional birthday card, there are funny cards, modern cards, floral cards and a big trend towards cards relating to specific relatives. There is now also a big switch to handmade cards and lots of birthday card manufactures are now using recycled paper to make the cards.
A birthday card can be as special or as silly as you want it to be. The standard card size is 175mm x 125mm but card manufactures are now making extra large jumbo cards. There are no rules as to which type of cards you may send, though common sense should be used.
When sending a birthday card through the mail the card should arrive one day before or on the actual birthday of the one receiving the card. The advent of the modern postal system has helped swell the numbers of cards sent dramatically from the days that the card was delivered by horse and cart.
The manufacture of birthday cards has now gone full circle with China now becoming the largest manufacturer of birthday cards.
A birthday card now brings great joy to billions of people who receive them around the world. Little did the inventor of the birthday card all those years ago realize just how popular and everlasting the trend of sending birthday cards would become.
About the Author
Andrew Gibson is MD of The Card and Gift Company. It is one of the fastest growing online retailers of birthday cards. To see an example of why The Card and Gift Company is growing so rapidly have a look at Funny Birthday Cards
Birthday Card
|
|
Fred & Friends Freeze Handgun-Shaped Ice-Cube Tray $1.99 Fred & Friends Freeze! Handgun Ice Tray.... |
|
|
Bacon Flavored Toothpicks Accoutrements 80 Gift TIN Novelty GAG Gift $0.01 If you love bacon, these bacon flavored toothpicks are just the thing for you! These slender sticks of wood are generously infused with the unmatched, drool-inducing flavor of bacon. Each tin contains eighty toothpicks. Get it for yourself or as a gift for the bacon lover in your life!... |
|
|
Umbra PortoChef Loose-Leaf Recipe Easel $28.99 Organize up to 52 recipe cards, magazine clippings, and online recipes with this versatile recipe album from Umbra. Made from imitation leather with metal rings for effortlessly flipping, this easel style album is is designed to be free-standing and utilizes top-loading sleeves so its easy to use.... |
|
|
Best of Elmo's World DVD Collection $20.51 Three-disc set includes "Head to Toe with Elmo," "Flowers, Bananas & More!," and "Birthdays, Games & More!"... |
|
|
Sesame Street: 25th Birthday - A Musical Celebration! $5.99 Everyone's invited as Sesame Street celebrates its 25th birthday! The whole family will want to sing along with this special hour-long collection of favorite Sesame Street songs, featuring "C is for Cookie," "Bein' Green," "Monster in the Mirror," and many, many more! Ernie sings a medley of Duckie songs, including "Do De Rubber Duck," "Put Down the Duckie," "The Honker-Duckie-Dinger Jamboree," an... |
|
|
Jake & The Never Land Pirates $5.84 All products are BRAND NEW and factory sealed. Fast shipping and 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.... |
|
|
Flickback 1963 DVD Greeting Card $2.00 Flickback DVD Greeting Cards are designed as the perfect way to mark any birthday, anniversary or reunion. The colorful card is filled with stories and pictures about the people, places and events that made the year special. The DVD presents the year's most entertaining video highlights including 'People in the News,' 'Politics & World Events,' 'Fashion & Entertainment,' and 'Sports.' You can add ... |
|
|
Barbie Birthday Party at Walt Disney Epcot '94 $6.95 Celebrate with Barbie and her friends at the new live Barbie Show at Epcot. Plus, see and exciting preview of new 1994 Barbie dolls and fashions.... |
|
|
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Happy Birthday Zack [VHS] $6.02 Power Ranger action Young adult... |
|
|
Amazon Gift Card - Print - Amazon Tools $50.00 ... |
|
|
Set of 4 Field of Asters Happy Birthday Cards (Turkey) $19.49 Happy Birthday themeMaterials: paper, crocheted flowersSet of four Happy Birthday cards with envelopes |
|
|
Paper Flair Birthday Card Kit $8.99 Create envy-worthy cards with a card making setScrapbooking kit makes 10 complete cardsWhether wishing happy birthday, get well, or even just thinking of you, card kit is perfect for any occasion |
|
|
Set of 4 Pink Lillies Birthday Cards (Turkey) $19.49 Send your birthday wishes to all your loved ones with this card set handmade by artisans in Turkey. |
|
|
Big Shot 3D Pop-up 3-tier Cake Die $26.99 Brighten up any homemade birthday card with this 3D pop-up 3-tiered cake. This cake pop-up comes ready for you to fully assemble it. |
|
|
Set of 4 Pink Daisy Bouquet Birthday Cards (Turkey) $19.49 Send your birthday wishes to all your loved ones with this card set handmade by artisans in Turkey. |