It\’s It\’s become a tradition in times of special events or when a friend or family is sick, that a person sends out a greeting card. Greeting cards have long been a stable of giving good will, cheer, or even condolences in the times of joy and happiness. In the US, Hallmark and American Greetings are the more popular producers of greeting cards and a study done in the UK states that over one billion dollars are spent for greeting cards in the country.

But where did greeting cards come from? How did this tradition start? And how has technology grown the greeting card industry?

The History of Greeting Cards

The history of greeting cards can be traced back to both China and Egypt, where messages of good will would be passed during the New Year. As early as the 1400s, residents of Germany were known to give out paper cards that would express the same messages for different occasions. In fact, the world\’s earliest known Valentine\’s Day card currently resides within the British Museum.

The tradition of giving a card when a special event occurred continues today, where technology and the Internet has given a larger access and choices for those cards. American Greetings, for instance, has an online store where people can chose from the different types of greeting card; there are five types of cards that a person can choose from –

– Standard – the standard greeting card is of course the typical folded paper card. These usually will have a design and message on the front cover, with either a blank area in the interior for a customized message or another message, with a designated area for the sender to leave a message as well.

– Pictures – picture greeting cards are becoming a popular trend, with two different types. The first is that of the ability to insert a picture within the card\’s area, while the second is where the picture is printed on the card itself. These are popular during the holiday seasons.

– Personalized – personalized greeting cards are those that are custom made by the sender. There are two methods in which someone can get a personalized greeting card – the first method is to have an online company create a personalized card for you, while the second method is to create one right on your computer. Many computer users will turn to their programs to create printable greeting cards. One such popular program is that of Microsoft Publisher.

– Musical – a new trend in greeting cards is that of the musical card. A small electronic device is placed inside the card itself, allowing for a song or dialogue to play when the receiver opens the card. The song can be anything from \”Happy Birthday\” to Homer Simpson trying to remember how the fire safety song goes.

– E-Card – e-cards, or electronic cards, on those greeting cards that are sent through the online medium of email. The sender goes to a website, chooses a card, writes a message, and then enters in the receiver\’s email address and when the card should be sent.

As mentioned above, American Greetings is one of the leaders when it comes to producing greeting cards. Founded in 1906 in Ohio, American Greetings not only produces paper greeting cards, but that of online e-cards, ringtones, and even popular characters such as Strawberry Shortcake and the Care Bears.

The online store offers users a wide variety of different greeting cards, from picture cards to that of the standard card. One of the newest features from American Greetings is that of the talking e-card, an amalgamation of the above mentioned types of greeting cards. The talking e-card allows users to not only chose more voices and backgrounds for popular talking cards, but also the ability to input their own pictures and even their own voice, making the card easily customizable and personalized.

American Greetings offers registered members the ability to not only create and choose one of their offered cards, but also the ability to order standard paper cards and finding a local retailer. The site currently offers new members a free trial of their services, with three different payment options when they decide to become a full member – either month by month, yearly, or every two years.

Author Bio: Visit American Greetings

Category: Entertainment
Keywords: greeting cards