Retro Holiday

Many of the Christmas traditions and practices we enjoy the most can be traced back to the Victorian era, which covers the duration of Queen Victoria's ruling over the United Kingdom from 1837 to 1901.

During that period, the country experienced something of an emergence from its formerly Puritanical bans on extravagant celebrations. Naturally, people rather exuberantly embraced their newly merry and flamboyant celebrations, spawning a host of traditions. Many of the most popular Victorian traditions are still very much in practice today.

Perhaps one of the most popular Victorian Christmas traditions that is still observed today is the sending of Christmas cards. The practice of sending printed Christmas cards started in England and was a modification of the then customary writing of greetings by English children to their parents.

The printed cards enjoyed huge success and later on became a contagious practice that spread from England to the rest of the UK then to the rest of the world. More than a century later, we still send Christmas cards by the truckload to destinations around the globe. Whether they are accompanying Christmas gifts or simply sent on their own, it's a tradition that has stood the test of time.