For
this edition of the Wednesday Gift Shop, I thought that I would use
this opportunity to talk about something that can be found at almost
every gift shop in the world. Now, I realize that this opens the
doors to a wide variety of objects, so I'll give you clues in order
to narrow it down before we get right to it.
CLUE
#1 – In the United Kingdom, it is estimated that over one billion
pounds are spent on these every year.
CLUE
#2 – On average, a person will purchase fifty-five of these items
in one year.
CLUE
#3 – They can come in all colours and sizes, and can range in price
between 99 cents and fifteen dollars.
CLUE
#4 – If one is lucky, one might find a gift card or some cash
enclosed inside one of these objects.
And,
the clue that will likely give it away...
CLUE
#5 – American Greetings, Carlton, and Hallmark are among some of
the leading producers of these items.
Have
you figured it out yet?
Yes,
this week on the Pop Culture Addict's Guide To Life, we will be
taking a look at greeting cards! We'll take a look at how the
tradition of sending a greeting card first came to be, have a
discussion about the various kinds of cards that are available, some
of my personal memories of greeting cards...and I'll even post some
examples of real-life cards that I have gotten over the years.
(And,
yes, when it comes to cards, I am a semi-hoarder. But I'll explain
why that is as we continue.)
The
tradition of sending greeting cards is widely believed to have
originated in Ancient China, where people would exchange messages of
good will to celebrate the New Year. Although the tradition was also
noted to have been used in Ancient Egypt as well, who sent their
well-wishes written on papyrus scrolls. As early as 1400, Europeans
began exchanging hand-made paper greeting cards, and handmade
Valentine's Day cards were known to exist in parts of Europe during
the mid-15th century.
By
1850, greeting cards evolved enough to be seen as a popular means of
communication. And, thanks to the invention of the postage stamp,
sending a letter or a card to people who lived far away never became
easier.
Innovations
to the greeting card industry have made sending cards even better
than ever before. Colour lithography technology in the 1930s
propelled the industry forward, humourous greeting cards began to
surge in popularity in the 1950s, and by the time the 1980s rolled
around, holographics and 3-D imagery soon began to appear on greeting
cards.
Of
course, these days, many people have began to rely on electronic
greeting cards, or opting to wish someone a happy birthday on their
Twitter or Facebook accounts, which I suppose is fine. But you know,
there's no feeling quite like looking in the mailbox and opening up a
birthday card or a Christmas card. It can certainly brighten up your
day when you're feeling down.
(And,
hey, any greeting card trumps the usual bills, junk mail, and letters
claiming that you can win a million dollars if you buy twelve
subscriptions to Good Housekeeping magazine!)
Seriously,
I think that sending greeting cards is slowly becoming a lost art.
Many people claim that sending cards through the mail is too
expensive...and I do see their point, as stamps have consistently
gone up in price each year. But, for those of you who swear by the
Facebook birthday greetings, would your monthly Internet bill be
higher than sending out ten cards to people?
Call
me old-fashioned, or what have you, but I love sending out Christmas
cards to people. For the last dozen years or so, I've been a part of
several Christmas card exchanges, and over the last twelve years,
I've gotten hundreds of cards from people that I've met both in the
real world and the online world from several different countries. I
know that Christmas was three months ago, but I just wanted to show
you some examples of Christmas cards that I have gotten over the
years, and in a couple of cases, I'll tell you a story about them.
As
I said before, many of my cards come from either Canada or the United
States. Here are a couple of examples from my friends Cary (above),
Bailey (above), and Sharyn (below)...
But
I've also received Christmas cards from Finland. This one below is
from my globetrotting friend, Kitty, who I sadly have lost touch
with. Maybe she'll see this one and track me down...
And,
I've gotten some lovely cards from jolly olde England from my British
buddies Mandie and Helen...
I've
even gotten some cards from my friend Cathy in Italy...but since her
cards had family photos on the front, I'll just scan the inside...
I'm
always in awe over people who take the time to make their own cards.
I can't draw for toffee myself, so I can appreciate someone who can
take the time to create something magical, as my friend Jill from
Texas has shown in this card that I received from her a year ago.
And,
then there are the cards that I have gotten from those friends who
are no longer with us. Those cards will forever hold a special place
in my box of memories.
You
remember almost a year and a half ago, I shared my story of a
wonderful woman named Pierette? She passed away in December 2011,
and she and I shared a very special bond. In fact, she was one of
the main reasons why I ended up getting so many cards from all over
the world, as she was the one who spearheaded the Christmas card
exchange on a forum in which we were both members. And, she always
had just the right words to say to make anyone feel better about
themselves, while still maintaining her sarcastic wit. So, rather
than show you the outside of the card, I thought I'd share with you
one of the messages she wrote me inside the card...just to illustrate
what I mean.
(Just
to clarify...”YL” stood for Yesterdayland.com, a now defunct pop
culture site...and “Jughead” was part of the screenname I used.
Imagine that, a time in which we tried to conceal our identities
online.)
I
also wanted to share with you my memories of another special woman
who meant a lot to me. Her name was Rosemary, but she went by the
screenname of TexasRose. And to say that she was one of the most
interesting people I've ever met online would be a complete
understatement. Born in 1936, she used the Internet better than some
people my age! She had stories to tell about her life growing up,
loved her family with all her heart, and in 2006, she sent me a
Christmas card along with this calendar magnet wishing me a happy
2007...
(NOTE:
I blacked out the address.)
You
might be wondering why I have kept a 2007 calendar for so long.
Well, shortly after getting that card, Rosemary fell ill quite
suddenly. We were all hoping that she would be able to pull through,
but in March 2007, Rosemary passed away at the age of 70. That
calendar and card being the only things that I have to remember her
by. That's why I will always treasure them forever.
And,
to end this look back on greeting card memories, I wanted to share
with you one more.
I've
talked about this a few times on this blog, but as many of you know,
I underwent a very serious health scare two years ago. On February
12, 2011, I had my gall bladder and part of my liver removed, which
lead to a two-week stay in the hospital and being off work for eight
weeks total. It was a really scary time in my life...one that I hope
never to experience ever again.
You
know what got me through it though? Knowing that a lot of my
co-workers cared about me. They sent me flowers, visited me in the
hospital, kept me updated on any television shows that I was missing,
and perhaps the one thing that stood out the most was the fact that
they sent me this card.
I
know...looks fairly plain, right? Look inside.
Isn't
that something? But wait, there's more. Check out the back cover!
Now,
isn't that a cool way to let someone know that they care? I hung
that card up proudly in my hospital room, and now have it kept in a
personal photo album to remind me that there were people who did
care. I didn't have a whole lot of that growing up. It was such a
small gesture, but it meant the world to me. And, sometimes that's
all that it takes.
No
wonder I'm pro-greeting card!
And,
now it's your turn.
BONUS
QUESTION: Do you have any special greeting card memories?
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