Happy Easter: the best postcards and heartfelt pictures
Every year on Bright Sunday of Christ Russians exchange holiday cards with images of colored eggs, temples and cakes. Electronic greetings are very popular in the modern world, but back in the early 20th century, thousands of paper postcards were sent throughout the country, which were kept by recipients as real jewelry. Izvestia tells about the history of Easter cards and shares warm congratulations on the holiday.
The best vintage retro postcards with Orthodox Easter
The first "open letters" appeared in the second half of the 19th century in France. In 1870-1871, Emperor Napoleon III declared war on Prussia.
Soldiers who went to the front often did not have enough paper for letters, so cardboard and paper scraps were used.
Then the French bookseller Leon Benardot proposed a new way to send messages home. He started producing small rectangular cardboard boxes with an address on one side and a free space for the message on the other.
The soldiers liked the idea, and some of them even left small drawings on the side with the address.
Inspired by this, Benardo decided to decorate his product with a patriotic vignette, creating the world's first illustrated postcard.
After the end of the war, greeting cards appeared. They were often sent to family and friends on Easter, Christmas, or Angel's Day.
Soon, the fashionable product of French printing appeared in Russia and quickly gained popularity.
Since there was no domestic production of postcards yet, they were imported from abroad.
Most often, they depicted Catholic Easter attributes: rabbits, chickens, cathedrals unknown to Russian people, etc. All this did not correspond to the spirit of the Orthodox holiday, and there was a demand for understandable and intimate subjects.
The first Russian collection of Easter postcards was published by the publishing house of the Moscow Orthodox community of St. Eugenia in 1898. They featured four watercolor subjects by the famous artist Nikolai Karazin. The postcards were a resounding success. They were mailed, given to friends, and used as home decorations.
In the following years, St. Eugenia's Publishing House became the most respected manufacturer of greeting cards. Over 20 years of work, it has issued more than 6 thousand types of "open letters" on various topics. The illustrations for them were created by talented artists of that time: Ivan Bilibin, Ilya Repin, Alexander Benois, Boris Zvorykin, Elizabeth Boehm and others. Postcards were also produced by other publishers, such as Richard, Lenz and Rudolf. Some Western manufacturers also offered their products.
Most often, Easter postcards depicted little angels, cakes, eggs, spring landscapes, festive treats and traditions, such as the Christening.
People carefully kept these elegant pictures with warm wishes from their loved ones. Many people have not parted with their collection throughout their lives.
During the First World War, patriotic themes began to appear among the religious. The postcards depicted military personnel, sisters of mercy, and members of the imperial family.
A card with Nicholas II giving an Easter egg to a soldier was particularly popular at that time.
After the 1917 revolution, the production of religious postcards stopped, as the new leadership of the country declared them propaganda of religion.
For a long time, the traditions of the Russian Easter card were preserved by emigrants.
After the Great Patriotic War, greeting cards for Easter and other celebrations reappeared on the shelves, however, only in church shops.
Funny pictures with inscriptions and Easter greetings
Easter postcards were revived in the 1980s, when they were mass-produced again. At about the same time, reproductions of pre-revolutionary illustrations began to appear on them, in addition to well-known subjects. Retro paintings for Easter and other holidays are still popular today.
Modern postcards are diverse. Most often they depict cakes, eggs, candles or temples. One of the trends that emerged after the 1980s was illustrations with Jesus Christ. On the Web, Orthodox holiday symbols often coexist with Catholic ones.
Funny electronic postcards have become widespread in recent years. On them you can see Easter eggs with painted faces, rabbits and chickens in hats or with bouquets of flowers, and other funny stories.
Despite the changes that Easter cards have undergone over the last century, their meaning has remained the same — it is a way to share the joy of a great holiday with loved ones, even if there is no opportunity to see each other. Therefore, every year on Bright Sunday of Christ, people will exchange beautiful pictures and warm words.
Easter wishes — the holiday of April 20, 2025
On Easter day, Orthodox believers celebrate Christ. The meaning of this ceremony is that when people meet, they greet each other with the phrase "Christ is risen!" and hear in response "Truly he is risen!" and then kiss three times. However, this is not the only way to congratulate your loved ones on the holiday.
So, along with a postcard, you can also send a small message with warm words. On Easter, it is customary to wish peace, fortitude, happiness, wisdom, well-being and harmony in the family. Here are some examples:
"My dear ones, I congratulate you on Easter! From the bottom of my heart, I wish you happiness, a peaceful sky and the fulfillment of the brightest hopes. Take care of each other and may the flame of faith never go out in your hearts!"
"Christ is risen! On this beautiful spring day, I wish you to remain a kind and bright person. May all troubles and illnesses avoid your home, and the days will be happy and joyful. Happy Easter!"
"I sincerely congratulate you on Easter! May your life be filled with joy and inspiration on this great holiday. I wish you sincere love, faithful friends and spiritual strength. May the Lord protect you from all troubles, and your sorrows melt like snow under the spring sun."
"Happy Easter! On this great day, Jesus Christ rose from the dead to defeat evil and death. So may your soul always strive for the light, for lofty goals and noble dreams! I wish you good health, happiness and prosperity. May you always be surrounded by love and kindness."
Earlier, Nikolai Savchenko, a priest at St. Peter Metropolitan of Moscow Church in St. Petersburg, told Izvestia how to prepare for Easter and what not to do on the holiday.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
