READING All about Christmas cards The tradition of Christmas cards began in Britain in the time of Queen Victoria - over 170 years ago ; it is still going well today, even if the number of cards sent each year in Britain is a lot less than it was before the age of mobile phones, email and instant messaging. Still a big tradition Christmas cards are a big tradition in the English-speaking world. In 2017, people in Britain sent and received about 900 million cards. That's an average of about twelve cards for every person, from tiny babies to the oldest grandparents. The number of cards that are sent around Britain causes an annual headache for the postal service. Each year, the postal service has to take on seasonal staff to help with the extra mail, and postal sorting offices are stretched to their maximum capacity and sometimes b...