Though giving greetings cards for memorable occasions has been about since the time of the traditional Chinese and Egyptians, till the late 19th century, only the wealthy and royalty could afford them. Even if cards became cheaper due to inexpensive paths to do color print, you would not see a clerk or farmer purchasing one. Only merchants and landowners were added to the group who were purchasing such insignificant things. It was not until the 1930s, when color lithography was developed, the society at large started buying greeting cards.

I found this rather ironic seeing this was also the time of the Great Depression. In the wealth years, this gesture of good wishes grew to one of a biggest business. By the late 1960s, folks were a giving greeting card for the neighbour nextdoor whose dog has a litter of puppies. Folks appeared to be obsessive about spreading good cheer and condoling people who were not content for no matter what the reason. This appeared quite odd to me due to how disfavored the Viet Nam War was. However , the greeting card business was growing and was even making cards that did not have any special meaning .

Sometime in the Company years of the 1980s, the exuberance to spread good wishes started to decline. Was it the economics of President Reagan’s term (Reaganomics), or was it just that folks had become self-absorbed? To my mind, it was more of the second. The “Me Syndrome’” had become the popular hobby for all of society. If your buddy acquired a BMW, you had to have a Mercedes. Society stayed this way for the main part up thru the 1990s. Somehow the greet card industry held on. I saw more cards that were blank on the inside giving people options for occasions. The greeting card shops had started to expand in the 1980s to incorporate small gifts and knickknacks and by the 1990s had some of the biggest stores in the malls. Sadly , most folks shopping in these firms were purchasing for themselves or buy cards and gifts to galvanize somebody.

Love was low on the list of concerns. When the nine / eleven crisis hit, it also struck a nerve in folk around the globe that made them start paying more attention to their neighbours, buddies, family, and even strangers. Today, you not only can buy cards to give to the ones you care about, but you may also send e-cards by e-mail. The gesture of good wishes isn’t dying in my estimation but it is changing.