The first known Christmas card was published in London in 1843, when Sir Henry Cole hired artist John Calcott Horsley to design a card for his friends. In 1856, German immigrant Louis Prang opened a small lithographic business in Boston. By 1866, he perfected the color lithographic process, leading to a full line of Christmas cards by 1875. In 1883, a universal postal rate made sending cards cheaper and easier.

The Sámi people of northern Europe have long used reindeer to pull sleds, a tradition that continues today. Sámi folklore tells of the magical “Gaivaldu” flying reindeer, which may have inspired Santa’s herd. Reindeer guiding Santa’s sleigh appeared in 1821 in “Old Santeclaus with Much Delight,” and two years later “A Visit from Saint Nicholas” named his eight reindeer. In 1926, Macy’s parade featured Santa on a reindeer-pulled sleigh, and in 1939 Robert L. May introduced the ninth reindeer, Rudolph, for a Montgomery Ward promotion.