Changes

 By the mid-15th century, greeting cards had moved from mostly a New Year formality to something being exchanged in other periods. One of the first periods used outside of New Year was in celebration of St. Valentine. In fact, Margery Brews, in 1477, is considered to have composed the oldest known Valentine's Day card to her fiancé. Despite this change, greeting cards were still considered too expensive and difficult for most people to have.  The major change occurred in the late mid-19th century, when at that time innovations in mechanized printing and mass production, along with better postal routes and cheaper postal rates, made sending greeting cards affordable. It was at this time that greeting cards became popular for other occasions. One of the first was for Christmas, when Sir Henry Cole, in 1847, hired the designer John Calcott Horsley to create the first personalized Christmas cards. These cards were then posted by Cole to his friends as a greeting for the Christmas period.