12 JANUARY 1951, Page 16

The Season's Greetings

SIR.-1 have read with glee the remarks by Janus on the curse of Christmas cards, and I. am sure that many of your readers will thoroughly agree with him. This last Christmas has surely excelled itself, and the ugliness of the majority of these missives shock one in these days of economy.

As Janus so aptly says, it is pleasing to receive cards from friends and acquaintances one rarely sees, but in other cases it is folly, a waste of money and also of time. Most of the cards are strangely reminiscent of Victarian days. depicting snow scenes, fat and distorted robins, with exaggerated scarlet breasts, pirouetting about ; the usual church is there perched on a hill, and the lines of greeting are inane. Mercifully some cards stand out, such as reproductions of famous pictures in galleries all over the world But Christmas cards do give pleasure to children in hospitals, although, indeed, one could send picture books instead. I

read that the now salvage drive is asking for Christmas oards, but I consider that, as long as thp Christmas card custom persists, the children should have priority.—Yours faithfully, DOROTHY ALLHUSEN. Shalbourne House, Marlborough, Wilts.