M I PAGE SIX Cards Carry Good Wishes For Season New Year's Greetings Date Back To Rome In First Century A.D. By ELAINE EDMONDS When those Christmas greetings begin filling mailboxes this holi- day season, don't think this is a relatively new custom. People have been doing it for the past 8,000 years. Even before there was a Christmas and per- haps since mankind first recog- nized the eoming of a new year, people have sent good wishes to their friends at this season. Personal New Year's messages attached to gifts have been found in Egyptian tombs of the sixth century B.C. Ready-made New Year's greetings were probably first sold and were quite the "rage" in Rome in the first century A.D. AFTER ROMAN times no record of ready-made greeting cards ex- ists for over a thousand years. Then in Germany about 1450, woodcut New Year's cards sudden- ly appeared in numbers with the invention of printing. Although the style was medieval, the sub- jects used were often similar to those of today, a favorite being THE MICHIGAN DAILY TUESDAY, DECEMBER8, 1952 SPACE HELMET OR CHEMISTRY SET? Shopping Suggestions Given for All Members of Family 'p By PAM SMITH Stumped about what to give the members of your family for Christ- mas? The shopper who is staggered by the wealth of new and fascinating toys on the market might do well to choose a toy that will reflect his own little brother's or sister's spe- cial interests. * * * A LITTLE girl who has her heart set on becoming a nurse would probably love a nurse's uniform and cap and a kit full of Red Cross essentials for taking care of ail- ing dolls. If little brother has to be dragged away from his electric trainsatanight, he'll love any one of the many working models of railroad apparatus, such as electric switches or an exact rep- lica of a signal tower. Or maybe you have an embryo scientist in the family. The per- fect gift for such a child might be a chemistry set complete with chemicals, and clear instructions on how to do experiments that are both fascinating, and safe for the youngsters. * * * IF HIS scientific interests are concentrated on space travel, he might be interested in a rocket gun, space helmet or space port for his space ships. Dolls are an ever-present must on every little girl's list, and this year the shopper can choose among dolls that walk, drink, and cry, or have hair that -Daily-Dean Morton OLD CUSTOM-Marilyn Masters, '57, and Pat Mooney, '56P, shop for Christmas cards. This is not a new custom, as people have been sending greetings to their friends for 8,000 years. can be permanented and skin that is specially treated so the budding coquette can practice the art of make-up. The pre-school set might en- joy a tooth-brush gun, miniature gardening or housekeeping equip- ment or a cuddly 'dog that walks and talks. * * * FATHERS are always a problem on anyone's Christmas list but here, too, a little thought about his special interests will lend some valuable clues. If he is a ski enthusiast he might appreciateea pair of ski boots with a new widened toe section for comfort and warmth. This boot also features an ankle strap that wraps around the an- kle four times for added support, and a "V" cut at the ankle to accommodate the forward lean of the skier. If he gets up before dawn the day the deer season opens, he'll love a water repellent hunting jacket and pants set, complete with a rubber-coated fabric lin- ing the game pocket, back, front, yoke and upper sleeve. * * * A FISHERMAN might appreci- ate a stainless steel fishing knife with a cork handle to prevent his losing it if it falls into the water. Cuff links and tie pins that indicate his pet hobbies are also high on a man's preference list. These sets come in patterns of antique guns, golf clubs and trout flies. If he's not too conservative, or if the shopper wishes he were less so, a brightly patterned vest might be just the thing for him. A pink shirt or a pair of black and pink argyles would also be a good choice. * * * IF DAD SPENDS most of his time downstairs in his workshop he would probably appreciate a new tool. or some fascinating gad- get. One such gadget might be a "talented tool" that is a hammer, pliers, nail remover, axe, screw driver and wire cutters all in one. Big brother is the one who will really appreciate the pink shirts and bright vests that women ad- mire so much in men's stores. For women who can knit, a pair of socks featuring a beer mug complete with angora foam could be just the thing for a brother who prides himself on his clothes taste. A BROTHER who treats his jalopy with all the tenderness and concern of a mother for her first born, would appreciate a novel horn that plays tunes or a flashy hood ornament. Any one of the new miracle fabric shirts in a plaid or bright pattern would please a big brother on Christmas morning. For brothers, little or big, who love to swim an unexpected and well-received gift might be a pair of swim fins, a fishing spear and a snorkel attachment to enable him to stay under the water for long periods. * * * A CHESS FIEND would prob- ably welcome a minature leather- covered chess set to take with him on his travels. For mother or an older sister, the shopper can choose anything ranging from a practical gift for the house to something wholly frivolous. A soft, pastel-colored orlon sweater would rate high on any l U woman's gift list. For a touch of added glamour, a sweater decor- ated with pearls or rhinestones might be chosen. * * * SILVER, crystal or china in her particular pattern is a good choice for an older sister about to be married. An engaged girl-and her fiance--might also appreciate one of the many excellent and compre- hensive cook books on the market. If Mother is a cat fancier, what could please her - or the whole family-more than a tailess Manx cat or a blue-eyed Siamese kitten purring under the Christmas tree on Christmas morning? the Christ Child pulling a wagon of good wishes. By the sixteen century the style had changed to pure Ren- aissance and the crude German rhymes had been replaced by elegant Latin verse. At this time, however, the greeting card cus- tom disappeared again. Up until this time and for sev- eral centuries to follow only New Year's cards were exchanged. Not MAKE FOLLETT'S YOUR CHRISTMAS SHOPPING HEADQUARTERS until early in the Victorian era did the Christmas card make its ap- pearance One of the most novel of the New Year's greetings was the "ad- dress" circulated by newspaper carriers around the first half of the seventeenth century. These "addresses" were seasonal greet- ings often containing a resume of the past year's efforts and in- variably signing off with a more or less outspoken request for a tip. * * * THE NEWSBOYS did not keep a monopoly. on New Year's "ad- dresses" for long. Firemen, letter carriers, billposters, lamplighters, messengers and other public serv- ants soon adopted the idea. After 2000 years of New Year's greetings the honest-to-goodness Christmas card appeared in Eng- land in the 1840's. In 1846, J. G. Horsley designed and published the first authentic Christmas card in London. The design consisted of three panels in a rustic framework. The central section depicted a festive drinking scene, which caused great wrath in temperance circles, and the two flanking panels were de- voted to acts of Christmas charity entitled "Feeding the Hungry" and "Clothing the Needy. 1 ' i a,. . , ° ::... ,: ' ql I :, .; ' ,, -I Books Christmas Cards Toys Games Wrappings Stationery Pens Typewri ters Records Children's Books Playthings Open Saturday Afternoons and Monday Evenings SHOP AT UNDER the design there ap- peared probably for the first time those well-known words "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you." Horsley claimed to have in- vented the Christmas card and it is very probable that he was the first to produce a full pic- torial effect; but he drew his inspiration for the " greetings that people in England had been sending to their friends for years. The polite people of that day were accustomed to sending greet- ings to their friends on special oc- casions such as New Years, Christ- mas and birthdays. Christmas cards really got go- ing commercially when London and Paris firms seized upon the idea with gusto and began pro- ducing pictorial cards with de- signs, many of which are rare beauties. Modern Christmas cards run the gamut from flue art to home-made snapshot cards. Each year more and more peo- ple express their good will and their wishes for a happy holiday season to their friends by send- ing cards. MAIN AT LIBERTY ANN ARBOR Only the finest quality at prices that are fair Permanent pleated to last through all your travels whether from dorm to class . from campus home for holidays . . that magic fabric of orlon plus wool, Lorette ... keeps you neat and clean 'cause it truly launders. Blue, green, .pink in misses sizes. 16.95 ~