Christmas Cards:
Let's try and hold on to this old tradition
by Victor Schukov
This week I saw a giant ad depicting a joyful Santa reading
a text message on his new “whatever” phone. It stirred something inside me.
And as there are often no coincidences in life, when I came home,
my wife gave me a box of blank Christmas cards. She said,
“Give them to all of your friends and colleagues at the office.”
When I was growing up, I sent Christmas cards to everyone I knew;
it was just done. It was an integral part of a preparation, the first step
in kicking off the the great holiday celebration of Christmas.
The sending of cards made us start to think about friends and family
we haven’t seen - for too long - even if they lived close to us.
Nothing is nicer than to receive something in the mail
that is not another bill to pay or an advertisement poking you to buy
the latest whatever. As we drag our feet through the mundane demands of daily life,
we sometime forget what a downer it is to be reminded by a letter that
says “buy me” or “you owe us this many dollars by whenever.”
It is a constant, stressful bombardment of money-draining in one direction.
No matter how much of a grinch you may be, it is a pleasant surprise
to receive a colourful card with a handwritten note inside that says,
“Wishing you all the best and thinking of you.”
And it is even more special when it is from someone you didn’t expect.
A Christmas card kicks off the upcoming holiday’s person-to-person connection,
the being together in thoughts if not in body. That is the message of Christmas.
It is the sending of good will that puts you in the spirit. We do it from the heart,
even if we have not received a card from that someone in a long time.
It should not be about reciprocation, but of setting an example with a stitch of love attached.
My wife tells me that when she was a child, her mother would pick up cards
with just the right message. Her father would then sit down a few weeks before
Christmas Day, and write out each personal wish.
And everyone gets into it at a different level.
Some write long, deep letters, some just a few words and a signature.
It doesn’t matter, it is the thought that counts and Christmas is all about the thinking of others.
Christmas cards are also mementos that some people save for all of their lives,
opening them up every few years to remember friends and loved ones
who may have died or moved away forever. The magic of reminiscence
keeps us connected to people who have touched our lives.
And when we hang the cards up around the home, it fills every corner of the room
with the essence of people who are dear to us.
When it replaces Christmas cards, texting on a machine
defeats all of the blessed messages that give this season its’ warmth.
Too busy to sit down and write a card? Cards too expensive?
Some of us have a million reasons, but there are no excuses.
Make the time from your heart. Texting your best wishes is cold.
Emails are impersonal, without a spot of effort compared to handwriting.
How lazy. How sad. We must not let the sending of Christmas cards be a dying tradition.
Now get away from your desktop and go out and buy some cards.
From The West Island Gazette
