The first Christmas Card

John Callcott Horsley was born January 29, 1817 in London, England and died October 18, 1903 also in London. He was a painter who designed the first Christmas Card in 1843 for Sir Henry Cole who was his friend. The first edition of 1000 cards as copied and hand colored and shows a family party and with the legend "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You."

Holiday Christmas Song Lyrics

Deck The Halls
Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
White Christmas
Winter Wonderland
Let It Snow!
Here Comes Santa Claus
I'll Be Home For Christmas
Jingle Bell Rock
The Little Drummer Boy
The Night Before Christmas
The Christmas Song
Sleigh Ride
O' Christmas Tree
Merry Christmas Darling
Mary, Did You Know?
Must be Santa
Christmas in Kilarney
Christmas for Cowboys
Tennessee Christmas
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Christmas Carol Lyrics

Silver Bells
Frosty The Snow Man
Blue Christmas
Jingle Bells
Up On the Housetop
Holly Jolly Christmas
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
We Wish You A Merry Christmas
Sleep Well Little Children
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
A Baby Just Like You
The Twelve Days of Christmas
Christmas Dinner
Rudolph the Reindeer
First Christmas
Pine Cones and Holly Berries
Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
Santa Claus is Coming
Nuttin' for Christmas
All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth

What is Santa's name in other Countries?

Santa Claus, as he is known in North America, travels the entire globe in a single night. He has many different names, here are just a few of them.

* In the United States and Canada his name is Santa Claus; He flies through the sky in a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer.

* In England his name is Father Christmas. He looks much like Santa Claus, but he has a longer coat and a longer beard.


* In Wales (a principality in the United Kingdom), Santa is called Sion Corn - this translates as Chimney John" relating to the story that Santa comes down the chimney of each house to bring his gifts to the children within.

* France and Canada, he's known as Pere Noel.

* In Brazil and Peru, he's called Papai Noel.

Click here for more of Santa's names

Dear Santa

What should I leave out for you and the reindeer? I have been a very good child this year and look forward to your visit.

From Santa;

On Christmas Eve, here are the kinds of treats that I like to find waiting for me and my reindeer.

* Santa likes Barley sugar sweets, if Santa starts to feel airsick. Also, some extra strong peppermints to keep him warm on frosty nights.

* My favorite treats are homemade cookies or biscuits with a glass of milk.

* A warm mug of of cinnamon-chocolate cocoa.

* Favorite Reindeer treats include a bundle of sweet meadow hay, or a bunch of reindeer moss and a few crisp red apples.

* Be sure to go to bed early, because you never know when Santa will get to your house.

A Santa Claus History

The Santa Claus

The American version of the Santa Claus figure received its inspiration and its name from the Dutch legend of Sinter Klaas, brought by settlers to New York in the 17th century.

As early as 1773 the name appeared in the American press as "St. A Claus," but it was the popular author Washington Irving who gave Americans their first detailed information about the Dutch version of Saint Nicholas. In his History of New York, published in 1809 under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker, Irving described the arrival of the saint on horseback (unaccompanied by Black Peter) each Eve of Saint Nicholas.


This Dutch-American Saint Nick achieved his fully Americanized form in 1823 in the poem A Visit From Saint Nicholas more commonly known as The Night Before Christmas by writer Clement Clarke Moore. Moore included such details as the names of the reindeer; Santa Claus's laughs, winks, and nods; and the method by which Saint Nicholas, referred to as an elf, returns up the chimney. (Moore's phrase "lays his finger aside of his nose" was drawn directly from Irving's 1809 description.)
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