24 Days of Making, Doing, and Being: December 7
Send gratitude.
Welcome to 24 Days of Making, Doing, and Being, a digital Advent calendar for slowing down and making space for presence, creativity, and gratitude. This is a seasonal offering for paid subscribers. Thank you for being here! If someone has passed this along to you and you want to keep it going, you can sign up here.
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There are a few annual traditions in this calendar, and today is the first one: Gratitude Cards.
The modern-day Christmas card dates to 1843 in the United Kingdom, designed by John Calcott Horsley and sent by Henry Cole, but even all the way back in 1611 there’s evidence that a card (well, it was more like a manuscript) was sent to celebrate the season.
Holiday cards originated with a creative touch. They often served as conversation pieces, art in their own right. I wrote about this season’s darker traditions yesterday, and you don’t need to look any further than Victorian cards to revel in creepier, weirder and more mysterious salutations.
