Who launched the custom of mailing Christmas cards and letters?
This is a custom that started in England in the 1840s, when John Calcott Horsley (not a Harry Potter character) created a card for Sir Henry Cole, who needed his own short cut for keeping in touch. Lithograph images portrayed a happy family celebrating and giving food and clothing to the needy. For good measure, there was a letter packed with details of Sir Henry’s recent accomplishments. (We’re assuming he got a promotion and his kid made the dean’s list.) Christmas cards became popular in England and the U.S. (first in Boston) in the 1860s. Q: How come we call Christmas songs Christmas carols? A: The word carol originally meant a ring dance accompanied by a song. It evolved to include Christmas songs recognized and sung by the masses. Italian monks used them extensively to bring the word of God to the people. They traveled from town to town, singing the story of Christianity in language the people could understood, close enough that they could hear it. The practice spread to France,
