Where was the first Christmas card printed?

The first Christmas card was printed in England. More specifically, the first commercially produced Christmas card appeared in London in 1843, during the Victorian era.

Civil servant and entrepreneur Sir Henry Cole commissioned artist John Callcott Horsley to design the card. It showed a festive family gathering in the center, flanked by scenes representing charitable acts. About 1,000 copies were printed, and each could be personalized with a handwritten message. The cards were relatively expensive, costing one shilling, but they introduced a tradition that later became widespread.

The card was made possible in part by recent postal reforms, especially Britain’s 1840 Uniform Penny Post, which made sending letters and greetings much more affordable. A common mix-up is the claim that this was the very first Christmas greeting ever sent: an earlier Christmas message was sent in 1611, but Cole’s 1843 card is generally recognized as the first commercial Christmas card. England is therefore the standard answer to this trivia question.