Friday 31 January 2014
Tuesday 28 January 2014
Nothing says it like a card
Nothing says it like a card
How many greeting cards did you receive this Lunar New Year? I remember how we used to get so many cards that it was often long enough to string up into festive decor.
But the truth is, the number of greeting cards we received last Christmas and this Lunar New Year Festival is at an all-time low.
Giving and receiving is part of our culture and even in primary school, my Chinese classmates and I used to exchange Chinese New Year cards with each other.
I remember observing how these cards, distinguished by their pink coloured envelopes, were sometimes left under books or slipped inside desks.
The joy of sending and receiving a card or letter is universal and in the days before electronic technology, the postman was my favourite man-in-uniform because he delivered our mail.
I derive much pleasure from receiving cards and letters and am sure others do so too. I make it a point to send out cards even when there is no particular reason to do so.
When Hallmark and Memory Lane cards became too expensive, I bought cards which were blank inside so that I could use them for any occasion. My sister in Britain, who collects postcards, is often the happy recipient of interesting postcards that I send her from every destination that I travel to.
In our family, we have a tradition of sending greeting cards to friends and relatives for each festival, particularly at Christmas and during Chinese New Year.
Every year, I will buy cards for dad to write on before I affix the stamps and post them.
Dad had several mailing lists that he uses as a reference during the festive season and he keeps them safely in boxes for easy retrieval the following year.
Taking into account the amount of time needed for letters overseas, my father had a method of writing the cards to be sent abroad first followed by the ones with local addresses.
Every year, the sending and receiving of greeting cards kept us in touch with family and friends and we were always excited to hear from them, even if it was just once a year.
If we received a card from someone who was not on dad's list, dad would add him to the list and reciprocate by sending him a card.
A few years ago, I posted the first batch of lunar new year greeting cards to relatives abroad.
About a week later, dad received a greeting card from a grand-uncle in Singapore who wrote a note with a stinging rebuke for causing him the inconvenience of paying a fine for insufficient postage.
When dad showed it to me, I was quite mortified that I had inadvertently put the wrong postage stamp on his card, and ever since that embarrassing incident, I always pay close attention to the card to ensure that such a mistake is never repeated.
While I have embraced the use of modern technology, there is nothing like the feeling of opening an envelope to view a card that someone had taken the time to choose, write and post to me.
Granted that there are cute icons and easy apps for sending electronic greetings, social media messages and emails but nothing can replace the joy of receiving a traditional card.
We can say that we want to "save the trees" but something is definitely lost when we join the modern trend to send e-cards or group emails.
Handmade or personalised cards are works of art and unique gifts that I will always treasure.
A friend in the UK sends me greeting cards with his family photo on the cover so every year I get to see how the children have grown and what they look like.
A greeting card we received last Christmas from my nephew Quinlan Maling who designed his own card will definitely go into my collection of mementos.
This lunar new year also marks another milestone as my father who is getting on in age wants to retire from this and has now handed the responsibility over to me.
Using dad's mailing list as a reference, I sign off the cards with mum and dad's names along with mine as I'm aware that their contemporaries who receive my cards, may not recognise who the sender is if my parents' names were not there.
There is a bittersweet feeling as I write the cards and read with a tinge of sadness that at least five name should be dropped from the list because they are no longer with us.
Memories of a bygone era, the writer’s father’s mailing list.
~News courtesy of New Straits Times~
How many greeting cards did you receive this Lunar New Year? I remember how we used to get so many cards that it was often long enough to string up into festive decor.
But the truth is, the number of greeting cards we received last Christmas and this Lunar New Year Festival is at an all-time low.
Giving and receiving is part of our culture and even in primary school, my Chinese classmates and I used to exchange Chinese New Year cards with each other.
I remember observing how these cards, distinguished by their pink coloured envelopes, were sometimes left under books or slipped inside desks.
The joy of sending and receiving a card or letter is universal and in the days before electronic technology, the postman was my favourite man-in-uniform because he delivered our mail.
I derive much pleasure from receiving cards and letters and am sure others do so too. I make it a point to send out cards even when there is no particular reason to do so.
When Hallmark and Memory Lane cards became too expensive, I bought cards which were blank inside so that I could use them for any occasion. My sister in Britain, who collects postcards, is often the happy recipient of interesting postcards that I send her from every destination that I travel to.
In our family, we have a tradition of sending greeting cards to friends and relatives for each festival, particularly at Christmas and during Chinese New Year.
Every year, I will buy cards for dad to write on before I affix the stamps and post them.
Dad had several mailing lists that he uses as a reference during the festive season and he keeps them safely in boxes for easy retrieval the following year.
Taking into account the amount of time needed for letters overseas, my father had a method of writing the cards to be sent abroad first followed by the ones with local addresses.
Every year, the sending and receiving of greeting cards kept us in touch with family and friends and we were always excited to hear from them, even if it was just once a year.
If we received a card from someone who was not on dad's list, dad would add him to the list and reciprocate by sending him a card.
A few years ago, I posted the first batch of lunar new year greeting cards to relatives abroad.
About a week later, dad received a greeting card from a grand-uncle in Singapore who wrote a note with a stinging rebuke for causing him the inconvenience of paying a fine for insufficient postage.
When dad showed it to me, I was quite mortified that I had inadvertently put the wrong postage stamp on his card, and ever since that embarrassing incident, I always pay close attention to the card to ensure that such a mistake is never repeated.
While I have embraced the use of modern technology, there is nothing like the feeling of opening an envelope to view a card that someone had taken the time to choose, write and post to me.
Granted that there are cute icons and easy apps for sending electronic greetings, social media messages and emails but nothing can replace the joy of receiving a traditional card.
We can say that we want to "save the trees" but something is definitely lost when we join the modern trend to send e-cards or group emails.
Handmade or personalised cards are works of art and unique gifts that I will always treasure.
A friend in the UK sends me greeting cards with his family photo on the cover so every year I get to see how the children have grown and what they look like.
A greeting card we received last Christmas from my nephew Quinlan Maling who designed his own card will definitely go into my collection of mementos.
This lunar new year also marks another milestone as my father who is getting on in age wants to retire from this and has now handed the responsibility over to me.
Using dad's mailing list as a reference, I sign off the cards with mum and dad's names along with mine as I'm aware that their contemporaries who receive my cards, may not recognise who the sender is if my parents' names were not there.
There is a bittersweet feeling as I write the cards and read with a tinge of sadness that at least five name should be dropped from the list because they are no longer with us.
Memories of a bygone era, the writer’s father’s mailing list.
~News courtesy of New Straits Times~
Monday 27 January 2014
Saturday 18 January 2014
贺年卡市场淡静‧厂商不再出新货
贺年卡市场淡静‧厂商不再出新货
手机短讯及电脑密邮贺年快速方便又省钱，贺年卡靠边站，市场一片淡静，厂商也不再出新货，市面上卖的是存货。
设计吉祥如意的贺年卡，永不过时，一样可派上用场。（图：星洲日报）
文冬腾达书局老板娘叶翠莲（49岁）接受本报访问时说，近3，4年来，贺年卡销量不断下跌，今年更加惨淡，可能连20%的存货都卖不出。
手机上网拜年成风气
叶翠莲说，一张贺年卡的价格介于数毛至2令吉，又要购买邮票，而寄送也要花几天的时间，的确麻烦又花钱，因此，现代年轻人不流行寄贺年卡，多是通过手机及上网拜年传情达意，加上行情不好，小市民能省则省。
她说，厂商是以寄卖方式在她的店售卖贺年卡，以前电脑资讯尚未发达时，她每一年可以卖出70%的货物，现在看来，20%也难卖。
她说，目前只有一些大公司与社团来买贺年卡，以寄给他们的顾客或商界友好拜年，至于年轻人，全部都不流行这一套了。
由于市场冷淡，制作贺年卡的厂商，也不再生產新的贺卡，因此，她所售卖的贺年卡，大部分也是厂商的旧货，不过其设计方面却是切合时宜及永不过时，卖完就算了。
此外，红包封也乏人问津，因为各大银行及大公司企业每年都免费派送红包封，人民能省则省，不用自己去买了。
（星洲日报‧东海岸）
手机短讯及电脑密邮贺年快速方便又省钱，贺年卡靠边站，市场一片淡静，厂商也不再出新货，市面上卖的是存货。
设计吉祥如意的贺年卡，永不过时，一样可派上用场。（图：星洲日报）
文冬腾达书局老板娘叶翠莲（49岁）接受本报访问时说，近3，4年来，贺年卡销量不断下跌，今年更加惨淡，可能连20%的存货都卖不出。
手机上网拜年成风气
叶翠莲说，一张贺年卡的价格介于数毛至2令吉，又要购买邮票，而寄送也要花几天的时间，的确麻烦又花钱，因此，现代年轻人不流行寄贺年卡，多是通过手机及上网拜年传情达意，加上行情不好，小市民能省则省。
她说，厂商是以寄卖方式在她的店售卖贺年卡，以前电脑资讯尚未发达时，她每一年可以卖出70%的货物，现在看来，20%也难卖。
她说，目前只有一些大公司与社团来买贺年卡，以寄给他们的顾客或商界友好拜年，至于年轻人，全部都不流行这一套了。
由于市场冷淡，制作贺年卡的厂商，也不再生產新的贺卡，因此，她所售卖的贺年卡，大部分也是厂商的旧货，不过其设计方面却是切合时宜及永不过时，卖完就算了。
此外，红包封也乏人问津，因为各大银行及大公司企业每年都免费派送红包封，人民能省则省，不用自己去买了。
（星洲日报‧东海岸）
Sunday 5 January 2014
Wednesday 1 January 2014
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