The wording on Christmas cards

I agree Georgesgran. I find those “thinking of you “ Christmas cards readily available. The Card Factory has cards for every occasion.

You see quite a lot with Season’s Greetings, which personally I don’t like, but would send to anyone I know to be Muslim or Hindu, etc., e.g. a couple of neighbours who send to us.

IMO anything’s better than the American ‘Happy Holidays’ though.

JackyB

I have a friend who is adamantly anti-religion. She found cards last year that just spoke of "Winter days" or something. For this reason, I try and avoid religious symbols - a tree or a candle is innocuous enough without being overtly commercial or symbolic of any religion, just tradition. The wording usually refers to Christmas, though. I shall try and remember that when sending a card to that particular friend this year. Maybe just send an e-mail!

You could send her a customised one-off card from Papier.

You can then choose your own wording.

Sent directly to her or to you first, as you choose.

I send Winter Solstice cards, doesn't matter if they don't celebrate it, it happens everywhere in the Northern hemisphere anyway

I’ve always managed to find and send a ‘thinking of you’ card to anyone bereaved that year. The Card Factory will have a good choice.

I have a friend who is adamantly anti-religion. She found cards last year that just spoke of "Winter days" or something. For this reason, I try and avoid religious symbols - a tree or a candle is innocuous enough without being overtly commercial or symbolic of any religion, just tradition. The wording usually refers to Christmas, though. I shall try and remember that when sending a card to that particular friend this year. Maybe just send an e-mail!

ElderlyPerson

> But of course you will know the origin of the word “merry” ?^

Actually I didn't, but I do now, thank you.

> Hence “God rest ye Merry, gentlemen” (not “Merry gentlemen” )meaning “may god keep you agreeable”

Well, that's two new things learned from one post then, thank you again.

Well, um, well, we used to sing it and nobody ever said. Never suspected that it meant otherwise.

Silly though it might seem, is it possible that misunderstanding the meaning of Merry on the cards is so widespread that it leads many people to eat and drink to excess because they implicity assume that they should do that as they are being encouaged to do so!

I always look for cards with some Christian symbols on them. Not into Santas, happy holidays, or reindeer. It is, after all, a celebration of the birth of Christ.

I didn't know that about the origins of Merry either so thank you MayBeMaw

The RNLI cards are lovely and quirky and I always buy them, usually from a Christmas fundraising event that is held here but, sadly, not last year.

I think most of the Red Cross cards say "Season's Greetings" and not Merry Christmas, EP.

The thing is, that even if you know about 'merry', it's current usage makes it rather inappropriate.
Lots of charity cards have Season's Greetings - I often use Unicef or Amnesty that have them in different languages.

I actually struggle to find cards to send to Muslim friends who like to stick to the idea of having only patterns on cards, not any depictions of living things. Unicef are quite good for that.

ElderlyPerson
Here you go, and not a merry in sight.

shop.rnli.org/products/harbourside-christmas-cards-v21?variant=18328484413536¤cy=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gclid=CjwKCAjwndCKBhAkEiwAgSDKQQQAKwzyMHS_-razNEO27nnSagrX5TqPNt7A51Uh6_Wsp64FJperVBoCg0wQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I can't stand 'Happy Holidays' on Christmas cards. It's so American.
I prefer to buy charity cards especially for charities that I like to support.

> But of course you will know the origin of the word “merry” ?^

Actually I didn't, but I do now, thank you.

> Hence “God rest ye Merry, gentlemen” (not “Merry gentlemen” )meaning “may god keep you agreeable”

Well, that's two new things learned from one post then, thank you again.

Well, um, well, we used to sing it and nobody ever said. Never suspected that it meant otherwise.

Maybe we’re talking about last Christmas Jane, some of us haven’t celebrated that one yet.

Casdon, I too am a fan RNLI cards, one particular year showed ballerinas in yellow RNLI wellies. Love the beach hut ones and Father Christmas arriving on a lifeboat. Yes you’re right the greetings are usually fairly non religious and not a ‘merry’ in sight.
Our son is an RNLI volunteer so extra special for us to support them.

A Christmas topic in September!

LauraNorder

That’s interesting Maw, I do enjoy your little snippets of knowledge.

Thank you LauraNorder
It comes in handy for pub quizzes and the like.
Paw always prided himself of being a fount of entirely random useless knowledge. I have a tradition to keep up!

I usually buy my cards from the RNLI, and lots of theirs say ‘With all good wishes for Christmas and the New Year’ which is suitable for everybody I think.

Are you looking at cards in the shops?
There is a good choice, especially those sold by the charity shops.

Ime, you can buy Christmas cards with all kinds of messages on them, not just Merry Christmas. There are even cards that say something like ‘Thinking of you at Christmas’ on the front and which have an appropriate message inside for those who have reasons not to celebrate.

LauraNorder

*ElderlyPerson*, sites such as moonpig or funky pigeon allow you to choose your own greeting on a good choice of cards

Yes. I use Papier for cards myself, though I only learned of Papier earlier this year, so I have not used them for a Christmas card yet. I use Papier as their cards have a matt finish. I think the others may be glossy but I am not sure.

Thank you for the suggestions. I will try to have a look.

As did 33 others, I should add!

Parsley3

*EP*I think you will find that most of us would be more sensitive to the hypothetical situation that you describe and wouldn’t send a card with an inappropriate message to the widowed lady.
In my experience there are choices of greeting and I quite like the blank option if I am including some news in the card.

I am sure that most people would be sensitive. It is just trying to find a card with which to act with that sensitivity.

This site might be helpful, OP. All proceeds from the sale of the cards go to charities and there is an advanced search facility, part of which allows you to look for certain words on the greeting inside. This card, for example, came up when I searched for the word peace.

www.cardsforcharity.co.uk/dove-alzheimer-s-society-christmas-cards.html

EPI think you will find that most of us would be more sensitive to the hypothetical situation that you describe and wouldn’t send a card with an inappropriate message to the widowed lady.
In my experience there are choices of greeting and I quite like the blank option if I am including some news in the card.