Subscriber OnlyLetters

Christmas cards – well worth the effort

Pushing the envelope

Letters to the Editor. Illustration: Paul Scott
The Irish Times - Letters to the Editor.

Sir, – Between the effort required and the cost, one wonders is the tradition of sending Christmas cards a thing of the past?

I am still a great believer in sending Christmas cards. I just think that it’s a nice thing to do, especially in the digital world.

Every year, I note that the cards are getting fewer and fewer but I believe that it’s still nice to let people know you have put pen to paper and you are thinking of them.

There is something beautiful about the birth of new traditions – witnessing how they embed – and watching them grow until they embed themselves into the fabric of our culture. But as we welcome the new, we can’t help but lose some of the old along the way. To me, Christmas cards are an anchor. They ground me with memories of my childhood and connect me with family and friends. There’s something tactile about getting an envelope with an enclosed card.

READ SOME MORE

I find those e-cards personally cheerless and unimaginative. I know people say that stamps and cards can be expensive. I just think for the amount of enjoyment one gets out of sending a Christmas card, allied to the feedback one receives from family and friends, it’s worth it. –Yours, etc,

JOHN O’BRIEN,

Clonmel,

Co Tipperary.