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Sunday 26 April 2015

Greeting Card

The custom of sending greeting cards can be traced back to the ancient Chinese, who exchanged messages of good will to celebrate the New Year, and to the early Egyptians, who conveyed their greetings on papyrus scrolls.

The term "Christmas card," first seen in 1869, predates “birthday card” by more than 30 years.


The Hall Brothers founded what would later be known as Hallmark in 1910. Their business began issuing cards that were folded down the middle and stuffed into envelopes. (Previously holiday greeting cards were of the postcard-type variety).

In 1926, Poland sent the US a birthday card with 5.5 million signatures. The good wishes came on 30,000 pages full of art, photos, poems and pressed flowers, in 111 bound volumes. The card was compiled by the people of Poland, newly independent following World War I, who wanted to express their affection for the United States. Polish citizen Leopold Kotnowski visited the White House to present the card for America’s 150th birthday.

Englishman Craig Shergold was diagnosed at the age of nine with brain cancer in 1989. His friends and relatives began a chain letter campaign requesting individuals to send greeting cards to him. The campaign was successful and Shergold has now received approximately 350 million greeting cards, earning him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.

According to a poll, 72 per cent of Americans sign their pets' names when sending greeting cards.

A greetings card that can play 'Happy Birthday' has more computing power than existed in the whole world in 1950.

Hallmark now sells a line of "encouragement" cards you can send to people who've lost their job.

Birthday cards are traditionally sent from Queen Elizabeth II  to people celebrating their 100th birthday. This is followed by another card for the 105th birthday and for every year after that.

It is estimated that Queen Elizabeth II has sent more than 175,000 100th birthday cards to people across the Commonwealth during her reign.

110-year-old Catherine Masters wrote to Buckingham Palace in 2009 after receiving the same birthday card five years in a row, with the Queen shown in the same yellow outfit. Prince William visited her to apologize, and the next year she received a card with the Queen pictured in a blue outfit.

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