Nostalgia of Eid Cards in a Digital World
APP
Faisalabad: As Eid-ul-Fitr approaches each year, mobile phones buzz with instant greetings, colourful digital stickers and social media posts. But not long ago, the excitement of Eid in cities like Faisalabad was marked by something far more tangible, the exchange of printed Eid greeting cards.
For decades, sending Eid cards was one of the most cherished traditions associated with the festive season. Families, friends, students and colleagues would carefully select beautifully designed cards carrying heartfelt messages and send them through the postal service as a gesture of love, respect and goodwill.
Today, however, the tradition has largely disappeared, replaced by smartphones, social media platforms and instant messaging applications that allow users to send Eid wishes within seconds.
A survey conducted in different parts of Faisalabad indicates that digital communication has almost entirely replaced the practice of sending printed Eid cards. Instant messages, emails and special Eid packages offered by mobile companies now dominate the way people exchange greetings during the festival.
Market observers recall that the situation was very different just a few years ago. With the start of the holy month of Ramazan, temporary stalls selling colourful Eid cards would appear across major bazaars and shopping centres in the city.
Read More: https://thepenpk.com/the-new-face-of-eid-shopping-in-islamabad/
Seasonal traders set up kiosks and roadside stalls for nearly a month, offering greeting cards decorated with Islamic calligraphy, floral patterns and artistic designs. Publishing houses also remained busy throughout the year preparing new collections to attract buyers during the festive season.
Markets such as Jhang Bazaar, Rail Bazaar, Aminpur Bazaar and Katchery Bazaar once witnessed dozens of stalls displaying hundreds of greeting cards in different colours, sizes and price ranges. Young people and students would often spend considerable time selecting cards carrying thoughtful messages for relatives, teachers and friends.
The popularity of Eid cards had also created a thriving seasonal industry. Publishing companies introduced new designs every year while stationery shops expanded their collections to meet the rising demand.
The tradition also kept the postal department extremely busy during the final days of Ramazan. Thousands of greeting cards were received daily at post offices across the city for delivery through ordinary mail, registered post and parcels.
According to former postal employees, the volume of mail during Eid season sometimes became so high that authorities issued advisories urging citizens to post their greeting cards before a specific deadline to ensure timely delivery.
However, this entire ecosystem, from publishers and shopkeepers to postal workers, has gradually faded with the rapid spread of digital communication technologies.
Senior bookseller and stationery shop owner Muhammad Rashid, who has been running a shop in Aminpur Bazaar for more than three decades, said the business of Eid cards has almost vanished.
“There was a time when customers used to buy dozens of cards to send to relatives and friends across the country,” he said. “Now hardly anyone asks for them because people prefer sending greetings through mobile phones and social media.”
Representatives of local publishing houses also confirm that the demand for printed greeting cards began declining rapidly after the expansion of internet services and smartphone usage.
Read More: https://thepenpk.com/markets-abuzz-with-festive-sales-for-eid-milad-un-nabi/
“Printing Eid cards used to be an important seasonal business for publishers,” said a representative of a local publishing company. “But now the market has shrunk drastically. Most companies have either stopped producing them or reduced production to a very limited quantity.”
Citizens acknowledge that digital communication has made sending greetings faster and easier, but many express mixed feelings about the disappearance of the traditional practice.
University student Ayesha Khalid said mobile applications make it convenient to send Eid wishes to a large number of contacts instantly and at minimal cost.
However, older residents believe that the emotional charm of handwritten greeting cards cannot be replaced by digital messages.
Retired teacher Abdul Hameed recalled that choosing a card, writing a personal message and posting it through the mail created a special connection between the sender and the recipient.
“Receiving a physical card from a loved one used to bring immense joy,” he said. “It carried a personal touch that digital messages simply cannot replicate.”
Cultural observers believe that while technology has made communication quicker and more accessible, it has also transformed the way people express emotions and maintain social traditions.
The ritual of selecting a card, writing heartfelt wishes and waiting for it to arrive created anticipation and excitement, feelings that are largely absent in the age of instant messaging.
Although the once-vibrant tradition of Eid greeting cards has nearly vanished, some nostalgic citizens still hope that reviving the practice could help preserve a meaningful cultural element of Eid celebrations.
For the new generation growing up in the digital age, however, the colourful greeting cards that once travelled through postboxes across the country remain more of a memory than a tradition.
