There’s a change going on right now and it’s happening right before our eyes and we don’t even realize it. No, it’s not the fact of Black Friday deals now moving to Cyber Monday, or the holiday shopping season starting in October, but the loss of one of the annual pastimes that make this time of year special and that is the holiday card exchange.
It’s one of life’s small pleasures that we can experience by going to the mailbox and finding an envelope with a beautiful holiday card from family or friends. Years ago (I know I sound old), families would regularly send holiday cards to each other in Yuletide spirit, and it was not uncommon to visit a friend or family member’s house and see their collection of that year’s well wishes. For me, this was something that always made the holiday season special and so for the last 15 years with my own family I have vowed to continue the tradition and to send out holiday cards to family and friends. The weird thing is that I’ve noticed over the recent years the amount of cards we’ve received seemed to be getting fewer and fewer and just a handful last year. Maybe it was just the sentiment of the pandemic that was present in everyone’s minds, or maybe people were just burnt out and not in the holiday spirit. Also, last year specifically, cards mailed during the holiday season took an average three to four weeks longer to be delivered due to the U.S. Postal Service changes. In fact, we sent out more cards last year than ever before because we felt it was more important than ever to share the holiday spirit during the difficult times we were all facing.Â
It was also noticeable that over the last couple of years, many have switched to social media and online e-cards as a way to send their well wishes as the ease of access and amount of people they can reach is greater and quicker. For me, it just didn’t have the same effect for the holiday spirit and the feel of the phone on the grip of my fingers or computer screen was different from that nice smooth cardstock smell and feel. Call it nostalgic or old fashioned but, in my opinion, the tradition of the holiday card is something worth keeping and I’d prefer to not let this get left behind as we begin to enter the metaverse. However, it’s very possible we’re not out of luck and the virtual artificial intelligence industry will create an experience where you can actually go meet your friends and family, and that would be pretty neat. Technology has also provided the video call at the ease of our fingertips as last year many of us connected virtually with our families from all over the world. This really shows the power of today’s communication tools and how far we’ve come as just a few years ago this technology was not easily available. So maybe we are not losing tradition and just need to recognize that the holiday card is changing along with much of everything in our society and there will be something that will come along to replace it.
For now, we have multiple options on how we can communicate to lift each other’s spirits whether taking the time to send each other a holiday card, sending an online e-card, setting up a virtual video call, or even going in person to a holiday celebration and we still have time for this year for all. So have a great holiday season to you and your family and enjoy the moments and joy they bring. Wishing everyone the best!
Andre DeVito hosts think tank discussion meetups, consults with data and quality improvement projects in the health care field, and produces a local podcast.
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(1) comment
Wonderful commentary, Mr. Devito. Yes, bring back the Christmas cards in the mail!
And put Christ back in Christmas. :)
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.