By Evelyn Witter
Cards of greeting for Thanksgiving have been published since about 1909, but they were not used to any real extent until just after the close of World War I. These were a bit crude, being mostly of the postcard type.
One of the earlier designs was printed in block on bright yellow Italian handmade paper, with hand-colored poppies to harmonize. The verse was printed beneath the flowers. It read:
ON THANKSGIVING DAY
Some golden poppies I’m sending
They’re on golden paper, too
The envelope ev’n is golden
And so are my thoughts of you!
By 1919 Thanksgiving cards, speaking out for the spirit of thankfulness everywhere at the close of the war, became more popular. They have slowly but steadily increased in popularity ever since.
The coloring and design of Thanksgiving cards has become almost as traditional as the day itself. They have been printed in fall colorings. More recently there has been a trend toward yellow and brown…colors which blend with fall foliage. Turkeys, fruit, vegetables, harvest scenes and scenes with golden foliaged trees, old-fashioned country churches, and Pilgrims of the 1620 style have been the favorite designs.
The expression of gratitude for material plenty and the voicing of a desire to express this gratitude are still the main requisites of the Thanksgiving card. Just as an early card said:
Hope you have a lot of cause,
Thanks to be a-giving
I’m as thankful as can be
Just that you are living.
One of the prettiest cards published in 1926 was a colorful scene of stacks of grain and golden-yellow pumpkins, with a wide border of fruit and vegetables in their full autumn colors. This wish filled the center of the card:
A smile or two, a thought sincere,
Sent out in friendly rhyme,
To wish you every kind of cheer
At this Thanksgiving Time.
Children have not been forgotten in the Thanksgiving card-spending custom. Designs for juveniles were more plentiful in the 1920s than they are today, but there is still a wide variety for children to choose from. Today, sentiment as well as design is carefully slanted for the young. For example:
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
May the day be yummy
Right from the start
Delight your Tummy
And warm your heart!
Since 1923, special greetings for members of the family have been published. In the past decade they have been getting more attention, an indication of the growing popularity of the day as a greeting-card holiday. There are, specifically, Thanksgiving cards for… “To the One I Love,” “For Father,” “For Mother,” “Across the Miles,” “Special Friend,” “Thanksgiving Birthday” and many others.
Today’s Thanksgiving card publishers have taken the best of the past and the best of the present, blending tradition with modernity, and answering the demands of an American public which has grown increasingly card-conscious. In fact, at the mere mention of a holiday, Americans hurry to send greetings to each other, making themselves the “greeting-est” people in the world. The multi-million dollar greeting card business proves it. We are the greeting-est people in the world.
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