Beyond Grades and Deadlines: The Power of Christmas Cards in Academia

If there are any clear signs of what this time of year stands for, it’s the cold gusts of wind blowing through tree branches with no leaves, the frost painted across windows during early mornings, and… the distant sound of Mariah Carey’s whistled notes signalling that “it’s tiiiiiiiiiime”. For many, listening to Mariah Carey’s song on repeat is an established Christmas tradition, but I’d like to remind you of another important one: exchanging Christmas cards.

In our current era of booming digital technology — where GiFs, group chats, and instant messaging prevail — exchanging Christmas cards has shifted toward digital alternatives. However, this tradition remains a symbol of acknowledgement, appreciation, and gratitude.

Younger generations continue to exchange Christmas cards where this custom still thrives, although some might consider it a fading tradition. It is a central part of Christmas in social circles, bringing together friends, colleagues, school mates, and family. While not everyone engages in this tradition, for some, it has arguably dissipated from their lives as they start their academic journeys as university students.

Well, maybe “it’s tiiiiiiiiiime” to change that and bring back a little Christmas magic, especially in academia.

Where Do Christmas Cards Come From?

Christmas cards date back to the mid-1800s, alongside the development of the new British Postal System led by Sir Henry Cole in England. Although earlier signs of Christmas greetings appeared in the 1600s (e.g., festive letters reportedly sent to the king from Germany), commercially printed Christmas cards eventually became a popular, fun, and efficient way to communicate with family and friends during the festive season. As printing and publishing technology also improved, the custom eventually spread across other European regions and the United States of America (Britannica Editors, 2024; Cooper, 2024; Hanc, 2015).

Christmas has religious origins in Christianity; however, its celebration takes many forms around the world and does not always carry a religious connotation (Gooch & Kelly, 2016). Christmas cards were not inherently religious either. Early Christmas cards seldom presented religious or Christmas-themed imagery. People preferred flowers, fairies, embroidered designs, and humorous or sentimental illustrations (including more morbid themes that were typical in the Victorian era). As it became popular, Christmas cards evolved, from simple postcards to lace-embellished pieces, and eventually became the folded cards we see today (Parker, 2024). Currently, the variety of Christmas cards is huge—from winter-themed, business-professional, and family-friendly designs to minimalist and more humorous cards. The diversity reflects how exchanging Christmas cards continues as a valuable tradition and a broader act of holiday greetings that can include everyone (Galloway, 2023).

Despite this transformation, Christmas cards are more than just decoration… or an evolved Pokémon (i.e., the new “e-cards”?). Independently of colour or illustration, the act of giving and receiving Christmas cards carries a deeper meaning of social connection, recognition or acknowledgement. A study by Gallagher et al. (2022) brings light to how poor mental health can influence people’s engagement in exchanging Christmas cards. More specifically, compared to people with no depressive symptoms, people who presented depressive symptoms frequently reported “never” sending Christmas cards, which can potentially alert to social withdrawal during the holiday season. Besides, a study on university students showed that they preferred paper-based cards to more impersonal e-cards since they were able to personalise them for the receiver, showing intentional effort and dedication in their actions (Gooch & Kelly, 2016).

Considering the underlying symbolism of Christmas cards and their potential for positive impact through social connection and acknowledgement, I briefly discuss psychological research on recognition and gratitude, including in educational contexts.

A Word on the Psychological Impact of Recognition and Gratitude

We may think of exchanging Christmas cards as a two-way street—with two lanes, receiving and giving, representing interpersonal recognition and the expression of gratitude. While these concepts complement each other in interpersonal relationships, they are theoretically distinct. My intention here is not to offer an exhaustive theoretical analysis (the authors who study them do this far better), but rather to provide an overview of how they relate to mental health, especially in educational settings, and to our main topic of Christmas cards.

Interpersonal recognition has been discussed through Honneth’s theory of recognition—one of the most influential frameworks of recognition in political philosophy and social psychology. Recognition is viewed as a fundamental human need that shapes identity development through self-confidence, self-respect, and self-esteem (Amer & Obradovic, 2022; Laitinen, 2002, 2006). Building on this, Holmes and Mckenzie (2019) argue that mutual recognition—based on the idea that recognition is never one-sided—may serve as a foundation for social equality and happiness at a societal level.

In psychology, interpersonal recognition is often explored in both professional and educational contexts (I report the latter in the next section). Research shows that interpersonal recognition predicts positive mental health outcomes like higher job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and wellbeing in the workplace (Clarke & Mahadi, 2017; Gilbert & Kelloway, 2018; Merino & Privado, 2015; Renger et al., 2017). Other psychological outcomes include perceived autonomy (Renger et al., 2017), sense of belonging (e.g., Allen et al., 2022; Losa et al., 2014; Pinto, A. & Pinto, D., 2024) and, in educational settings, the development of academic identity (Jensen & Jetten, 2017).

In contrast, gratitude has been researched more widely across diverse psychological domains (e.g., from grief to prosocial behaviour) and reviews discuss gratitude as a trait, a state, an emotion or feeling of thankfulness (Wood et al., 2010; Zeng, 2023). However, in light of interpersonal relationships, I focus specifically on the expression of gratitude—a cooperative behaviour expressed through acts of kindness and appreciation (Wood et al., 2010). A few studies show that expression of gratitude can promote self-efficacy, self-worth, pro-social behaviour, and the development of new social relationships (e.g., Algoe et al., 2013; Grant & Gino, 2010; Williams & Bartlett, 2015).

Given the strong evidence on the relationship between gratitude and increased wellbeing (e.g., Yoshimura & Berzins, 2017; Zeng, 2023), its inclusion in psychological interventions is strongly supported (Wood et al., 2010). A recent meta-analysis—a synthesis of results from a group of empirical studies—analysed 25 studies on effectiveness of interventions that involve expression of gratitude, demonstrating a significant effect on increasing psychological wellbeing, life satisfaction, positive affect, and happiness (Kirca et al., 2023).

While this overview does not thoroughly cover current research trends on recognition and gratitude, nor is it particularly tied with Christmas traditions, these studies indicate that mutual recognition and expression of gratitude can positively impact people’s mental health and wellbeing.

The question now is… why does this matter for those of us in academia? And how does it relate to Christmas cards?

How Acknowledgement and Appreciation in Academia Could Be Beneficial

If you’ve made it to this section, you now understand that recognition and gratitude can positively impact people’s wellbeing. However, in academia, the end of term pressures precedes the holiday season.

For us university students, these days are marked by stacks of forgotten mugs of mildly hot coffee, tea, or hot coco, an open laptop with 20+ tabs of academic papers, never-ending lecture notes or PowerPoint slides, and a long chain of messages in group chats about why a certain colour was used on slides for the upcoming group presentations (not an entirely universal experience, but probably a typical one).

Given the higher academic pressure that university students face towards the end of the year, the holiday season can become a very stressful period. So, could recognition and gratitude make a meaningful difference for us?

Recognition is linked to more student participation and learning engagement (Huang et al., 2024), and increased wellbeing (Anderson et al., 2021; Schultz, 2025; Thomas et al., 2016). Additionally, as probably expected, gratitude fosters higher life satisfaction and well-being for both students and teachers alike (Chauhan et al., 2025; Xusheng et al., 2025). In student-teacher relationships, students’ expression of gratitude towards them positively predicts teachers’ well-being and supports their professional identity (Xusheng et al., 2025). A study exploring the content of the expressed gratitude of students showed that they expressed more gratitude for teachers’ relational qualities, like compassion, motivation, and leadership skills, rather than technical expertise (Allen et al., 2024). Among students, more gratitude expression can also foster academic motivation, encouraging the use of gratitude expression in academic communities (Javaid et al., 2024).

Put simply: Recognition and expressions of gratitude for peers, staff, and teachers can support a healthier, happier academic community. But how can exchanging Christmas cards benefit academia?

Christmas cards as a token of recognition and gratitude in academia

During this time of year, Christmas traditions like Christmas cards symbolise social connection, gratitude, and appreciation. Exchanging holiday greetings through Christmas cards—a custom that continues to be a valuable Christmas tradition even for younger generations—can be the perfect opportunity to engage in recognition and gratitude this year. In academia, expressing gratitude by participating in customs that increases social connectedness, supports a better educational environment.

If you’re still skeptical about this topic after reading 1500+ words on it, I’ll proceed to drop the mic: a volunteer program in Japan encouraged college students that struggled with learning English to create Christmas cards with expressions of empathy and reassuring messages (written in English) to young victims of typhoons in the Philippines. Overall feedback from students was overwhelmingly positive, demonstrating interest and motivation to create meaningful cards with clear empathetic messages for which they were happy to work for despite the language barriers (Edwards, 2019)

A Final Thought

So, from one student to another: Why not share a little holiday kindness this year? Whether through a Christmas card, a Hanukkah greeting, a New Year’s note, or any personal gesture that reflects your culture, your beliefs, or simply your way of saying “I appreciate you”.

A handwritten message, a short wish for rest, or simply a warm “thank you” can brighten someone’s day more than we think. And maybe—just maybe—it can make our academic communities a little kinder, a little more connected, and a little merrier!

References
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About the Author
Shivani Atul Mansuklal is an editor at JEPS and a PhD student in Clinical Psychology at Lusófona University, in Lisbon, Portugal. She is passionate about building digital resources that support student communities and help psychology students achieve their academic goals. Her research interests in cyberpsychology and clinical psychology involve developing pedagogical tools for student skill training and studying digital mental health interventions for young adults. Her writing endeavours are done with enthusiasm to share valuable insights that make the academic experience a warmer, cooperative, and enriching space for students.