圣誕賀卡的歷史文化故事 Christmas cards：圣誕節英語故事
Christmas cards 圣誕賀卡
The custom of sending Christmas cards started in Britain in 1840 when the first 'Penny Post' public postal deliveries began. (Helped by the new railway system, the public postal service was the 19th century's communication revolution, just as email is for us today.) As printing methods improved, Christmas cards were produced in large numbers from about 1860. They became even more popular in Britain when a card could be posted in an unsealed envelope for one half-penny - half the price of an ordinary letter.
圣誕賀卡可追溯到1840年統一便士郵政(uniform penny post)的出現，此項改革實現了英國境內郵件遞送費用的標準化。（新鐵路運輸系統為公共郵政服務系統創造了條件，成就了19世紀的通信革命，與電子郵件對現代人的影響無異）。隨著印刷術的改進，從1860年起，每年會生產大量的圣誕賀卡。當郵寄非密封的卡片只要半便士（普通信件郵費的一半）時，郵寄賀卡變得異常流行。
Traditionally, Christmas cards showed religious pictures - Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, or other parts of the Christmas story. Today, pictures are often jokes, winter pictures, Father Christmas, or romantic scenes of life in past times.
從傳統上來講，圣誕賀卡都印有一些基督教方面的圖片，比如圣母瑪麗，約瑟和小耶穌，或者其它包含有圣誕故事意義的圖片。今天的圣誕賀卡通常是笑話、冬季景致，圣誕老人以及一些反應生活中浪漫場面的圖片。
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