CHRISTMAS CARD

form of greeting card usually sent by mail as an expression of goodwill at Christmastime. The practice, which has been followed in all English-speaking countries, is growing in many others. Though wood engravers produced prints with religious themes in the European Middle Ages, the first Christmas card, as the term is now understood, is believed to have been designed in England in 1843. An edition of 1,000 copies was placed on sale in London. The design was of a family party, beneath which were the words "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You." In the United States, the owner of a variety store in Albany, N.Y., in the mid-19th century produced a card carrying Christmas greetings from "Pease's Great Variety Store in the Temple of Fancy."