To think we need some new Christmas symbols

[Finlesswonder]

Just sitting here looking at the Christmas cards I got this year. Two have Robins on snow laden branches, one has people building a snowman, one has a stag against a frosty moon.
This winter has been damn warm where I am and only super light snow for 48h first week of December. Do we need to update our Christmas symbols?!

For information I’m not religious but Christmas is a Christian festival, no mention of the nativity in your Christmas cards; sad.

They're based on the romantic.ideals.of Christmas and not actual Christmas.

If they were designed to portray actual Christmas they'd feature drizzle.. robins in drizzle.. stags in drizzle.. kids chucking drizzle balls. It wouldn't be the same.

@Lovepeaceunderstanding
That's true, all the cards I got this year had more of a seasonal vibe than a religious vibe

@Finlesswonder Google images of "Victorian Christmas Cards".
They are completely nuts. I personally think this trend should come back 😂

Well the celebrations were originally pagan (Soltice) and the Romans, Angles, Saxons, and Jutes all celebrated at this time of year too, so not originally Christian either.

I have a complete mix. Two robins, a handful of snowy scenes, three Father Christmases, quite a few Christmas trees, a hedgehog, an owl, polar bears, a Christmas rose, a couple of snowmen, Christmas stockings and Middle East type builldings. Unsurprisingly nothing Christian except a group of choir boys singing outside a church.

I was given a framed set of Victorian Christmas cards years ago, but they are quite attractive

People are obviously choosing what they like. There are loads of different cards to choose from. While people buy the one's showing romanticised visions of Christmas, the shops will stock them.
@Lovepeaceunderstanding Christmas is a winter festival hijacked by Christians because it people wouldn't give up the feasting.

It's never snowed at Christmas in my lifetime. Once there was a bit of snow on Boxing Day. But Christmas cards are presenting an idealised vision not reality. If people don't subscribe to that vision they won't but the cards.

I don't see cards with the images I really see at Christmas catching on. A grey, dull, slightly damp but not actually raining housing estate where one house in ten has some lights out the front.

What sort of cards do Australians use I wonder? Perhaps it s all about one s perceived idea of a perfect Christmas rather than anything authentic.

Our Australian friends send us a card with a photo of their children with Father Christmas @ALunchbox and have told us this is an Oz tradition

I always carefully choose a nature scene of some sort, this year it was hares. I am celebrating midwinter much more than Christmas. We have had quite an assortment back, mostly secular, one or two with a religious picture.

Snowy village scenes are possibly more saleable than a picture of the inside of Tesco on Christmas Eve.

Some people think robins got their orange red breast because they're stained with Jesus' blood.

In the Caribbean there are cards of Santa at the beach and also loads of religious one.

I have heard this but then it would make more sense for robins to be associated with Easter.

I would be more inclined to believe the theory that they represented the Victorian postmans' (who were nicknamed robins) red coats who were delivering the cards. The first robins appeared on Christmas cards in Victorian times.

QI talked about how snow and ice was associated with Christmas in England because of the frosty scenes in Charles Dickens' novel A Christmas Carol due to the fact he lived during the Little Ice Age and his winters were cold and snowy.

Did I read about the uniform of early postmen wearing red waistcoats that had black sleeves. People called them 'Robin'.
I hope it is true because it is a nice story.