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2003 Christmas Family Talk/Assembly

How many people have received Christmas cards?

How many have given Christmas cards?

Do you know who invented the Christmas card? It was a man called Sir Henry Cole. He helped to start what is now the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. In the early 1800's people used to hand write greetings and best wished to their friends and family but Sir Henry was too busy to do this.

In 1843 he called on an artist friend, John Calcott Horsely for his help. Sir Henry asked if he was able to hand colour and engrave a thousand cards for him with a message which could then be sent to everyone. And so the first modern Christmas card was born.

It had the greeting on it, 'A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year'. "Merry" was then a spiritual word meaning "blessed".

One of these first Christmas cards sold at auction Saturday December 3rd 2005 in London for $16,000/Ł9,000. The buyer is the editor and co-owner of Progressive Greetings magazine. He's also the general secretary of Britain's Greeting Card Association, and he says he's pleased that the card is staying in England. The card was originally sent to a Miss Mary Tripsack, a close friend of the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

The centre featured a party of adults and children, with lots of food and drink. This reminds us that Christmas is a time to celebrate God coming to earth as a human being, Jesus.

Each of the two side panels depicted a good deed-clothing the naked and feeding the hungry. This reminds us that those of us who are fortunate are called to help people who are in need. Jesus said that his true followers will do these things ( Matthew 25:31ff).

Using a selected group of cards as illustration, make the following points:

cards keep us in touch with people who have moved away
cards don't need to be expensive - a home made one can be very special
sometimes we get a lot of cards showing all kinds of scenes/pictures, e.g. robins, snowman, humorous characters, Father Christmas, etc., but not many show pictures of the first Christmas.

Talk about the nativity card in your selection. Recall how Sir Harry Cole tried to remind his friends of the real meaning of Christmas. Explain how the nativity picture also reminds us of the real message of Christmas - Jesus was born in a poor stable, into an ordinary family. For Christians, Christmas is a time when they remember the birth of Jesus and how he came into the world to bring hope to the poor and needy.

READING: Read, or ask a child to read, the section in St Luke's gospel about the birth of Jesus (Luke 2 selected verses from 8 to 20).

8 There were some shepherds in that part of the country who were spending the night in the fields, taking care of their flocks. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone over them. They were terribly afraid, 10 but the angel said to them, "Don't be afraid! I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people. 11 This very day in David's town your Saviour was born - Christ the Lord! 12 And this is what will prove it to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger."

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and saw the baby lying in the manger. 17 When the shepherds saw him, they told them what the angel had said about the child. 18 All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said. 19 Mary remembered all these things and thought deeply about them. 20 The shepherds went back, singing praises to God for all they had heard and seen; it had been just as the angel had told them.

PRAYER AND REFLECTION: Ask children to sit quietly while you read out one or two appropriate messages contained in the cards. Then, using the response - Help us to remember:

LEADER: Let us give thanks for all the people who have sent us cards - our friends, family and neighbours.

ALL: Help us to remember.

LEADER: Let us think about all those, this Christmas, who are poor and in need.

ALL: Help us to remember.

LEADER: Let us think about the story of the first Christmas and the birth of Jesus into an ordinary family.

ALL: Help us to remember.

( Sir Henry was delighted with the cards. He even sold the left over cards in Old Bond Street for a shilling (5 pence) each! Of the original one thousand cards printed for Henry Cole, twelve exist today in private collections. One of these went to auction on Saturday, November 24, 2001; it sold for a record Ł22,500. It was sent by Sir Henry to his "Granny and Auntie Char" and was signed by Sir Henry, which makes it exceptionally rare. Ordinarily, one of these cards is expected to go from between Ł3,000 and Ł6,000. )

Last year over 2 billion cards were sold in the UK, where more cards per head are sent than any other nation.