December 9 was celebrated as the birthday of the Christmas card. Its prototype was an image depicting a family Christmas celebration, painted in England on private commission in 1842–1843. The idea met with a mass response, and from 1860 mass production of greeting cards began. In Russia the first examples appeared at the end of the 19th century, initially as imports, and later they began to be printed in Russia.
The collections of the museum-reserve 'Alexandrovskaya Sloboda' include Christmas cards from the turn of the 19th–20th centuries. Among them are those created by order of the Community of Saint Eugenia — the St. Petersburg Care Committee for Red Cross Sisters. At their request the first cards issued in our country were printed. Highly sought after, they were sold to raise additional funds for the maintenance of the hospital, outpatient clinic, and courses for nursing sisters.
Pre-revolutionary Christmas and New Year postcards had their own symbolism, which was once understood but is now forgotten.
For example, the chimney sweep became the main character in one of Hans Christian Andersen's tales. From the time this profession appeared in Scandinavia, Germany, and Austria, it was believed that chimney sweeps bring happiness and good luck. Paired with him was a pig — a symbol of well-being and prosperity. At Christmas, chimney sweeps would walk the city streets holding a pink pig on a leash. And if in the image the pig is embracing a bag of gold, then wealth is sure to come to the family in the New Year.
Postcard pigs 'also possessed' very human skills; for example, they drove cars. A basket of clover in the trunk of a car was also a New Year sign. A four-leaf clover is a talisman against the evil eye and malevolent spells.
Amanita muscaria (fly agaric) — poison for humans, but a medicine for forest animals. On postcards they signify robust health and long life. Likewise, holly (or ilex), like the Christmas tree, is an evergreen plant. Symbolizing eternity, the tree is as popular in Europe as our New Year beauty.
As the chief curator of the museum-reserve 'Alexandrovskaya Sloboda,' E.V. Zhilkina, says: "Christmas cards produced in Russia, as a rule, do not carry such pronounced signs as Western European ones. For example, on a card published in Moscow by the 'Three Stars' publishing house, the fly agaric clearly serves as part of the decoration, like other objects and characters. Angels, who announced the good news of the birth of the Savior of the world, were often depicted. And the bell attached to a Christmas tree branch also carries its own meaning. It proclaims the birth of Jesus Christ."
You can still surprise your loved ones with reprints of old Christmas cards, which are sold in the souvenir shop of the museum-reserve 'Alexandrovskaya Sloboda'. There is also a mailbox there.
