Christmas Card Mysteries: No 4

The mystery of this card can be easily summarised in one question.  Given the evidential star, why are those Wise Men heading in the wrong direction?

Perhaps they are three other wise men.  But then, why are they on a Christmas card?

Christmas Card Mysteries: No 3

We've received a card with a quite alarming warning on the back.

You may think that at my age I should take such a warning in my stride and not worry about it.  But what worried me about it was that for the life of me I couldn't see how a Christmas Card warranted this health and safety warning.  Like most people (I like to think) I find 'contains nuts' warnings on packets of nuts a form of corporate insanity but at least I know that nuts are dangerous to some people.  But a card - not a toy, contains small parts  . . .????

Here's the card:

Eventually I solved the mystery.  The offending small part is the little red and white ribbon at the top left - the one you'd have swallowed as a 2 year old thinking it was a toy . . .

Inevitably I studied the picture to check that health and safety had been properly respected throughout the product.

Ah, there are two stockings above a live flame.  Paper wrapped presents where the sparks may fly on the hearth.  Electric lights where ones hands should hold the banister.  Presents on the stairs and a pile of them at the foot of the stairs. Filled glasses of plonk on the narrow mantelpiece above the fire.  The tree too near the fire.

That ribbon is just about the safest thing on the card!  

  

Christmas Card Mysteries: No 2

Luke 2:8 In the same region there were shepherds staying out in the fields keeping watch over their flock by night.

It's a must-do reading at the Carol Service.

Today we received THIS card (it's actually a little longer than the photo)

From time to time card makers experiment with different shapes.  The designer of this card plainly designs bookmarks the rest of the year, but in the busy season it's 'all hands on deck' I suppose.

Elongation offers special opportunities one might imagine.  A card this long could have both Jerusalem AND Bethlehem on it.  Or even Nazareth and the holy family making their long journey from left to right or whatever.  Or there's the star, appearing to those wise men far away in the East.

It's a missed opportunity then, is it not?  The star has already arrived (early).  Instead, far away to the right we have the shepherds. That will be the shepherds that Luke told us were 'in the same region/vicinity'.  Well, these shepherds aren't!  

It's a mystery.

Christmas Card Mysteries: No 1

The Christmas cards have started to arrive!  I love Christmas cards, despite spending most Decembers blogging about the weirdness that many contain.

One thing that everyone once concerned themselves about was sending their Christmas cards in time.  The Royal Mail have helpfully always supplied deadline dates.  But now we live in a social media world and people can send their Christmas Cards for free.

I've had two already.

But why?

How long does it take to send an email or a Facebook message?  Surely the right time to send such cards is on the day they celebrate - Christmas Day?  But no - they seem in general to arrive BEFORE the deadline for posting to Pitcairn Island.  It's a mystery.

Truth be told I don't much care for electronic cards.  I'm struggling to articulate why.  This card is an example of why I'm struggling to articulate why.

I can't help thinking that with a design like this it might as well be tweeted as posted!