Putting a Stamp on the Jewish New Year!
The tradition of sending New Year’s greetings for the Jewish holidays dates from the 14th century; however, it was not until the mass production of printed material and affordable stationery that the practice became widespread.
The first postcard was invented in Vienna, 1869. It was then just a blank square of thin card. The classic picture postcard followed shortly after and was quickly taken up by the public, becoming so popular that the years between 1898 and 1920 have been referred to as the ‘Great Post Card Craze.’
During this craze, the practice of sending Jewish New Year postcards also took off. Germany and Poland were the centres of production for these cards, with German printers primarily using Biblical imagery for illustrations and East European printers opting for artwork depicting scenes from day to day Jewish life. The image was often paired with a rhyme or short message in Yiddish.
Examples of these stylised and sentimental postcards, with Yiddish New Year greetings, can be found in the collection of the Jewish Museum London.
Postcards selected and translated by Assistant Curator, Jemima Jarman:
This postcard dates from around the 1920s. It shows a family gathered around the table at home, watching their mother bless the festival candles. The father and two children wear white, fitting for the New Year.
The Yiddish message uses a half-rhyme and reads:
The good mother blesses the candles
And asks God for a good new year:
“O, God in Heaven, come to help us
And show us your grace” 
This postcard was created and printed in Warsaw, towards the end of the 1920s. It shows a group of, presumably Jewish immigrants, awaiting their ship; which in this case is sailed by the figure of the New Year. Themes of immigration were common in New Year postcards from this time, as more and more East European Jews looked to move west; to America and to England.
The rhyming Yiddish message says:
Pure and light like God’s angel,
In the hand, the sail and flag,
Loaded full with blessings
The New Year is arriving now!
This charming illustration depicts a couple coming back from Synagogue, wishing the children they pass a Happy New Year, through the window.
The original Yiddish message is rhymed and translates:
The mother and father are returning from synagogue
The children are smiling from in the window
“A Good Year!” mother wishes them from a distance
“A Good Year!” the littlest one shouts from the window.
In this more unusual postcard, we see a line of people waiting to exchange their cheques for money at the cashier’s window.
The rhymed Yiddish verse translates:
With joy they approach the window,
Each holding a New Year’s cheque.
Ah, blessed should be the Creator:
Each of them goes away with money.
This last postcard tells a sad, but familiar story of families separating in the hopes of finding a better life in a new country. It was common for husbands to leave their wives and children in Eastern Europe while they set off for England or America, in search of a better life. The idea was to establish themselves with housing and a job and then earn enough to pay for the rest of the family to travel across and join them. In a significant number of cases, the husband would never send back for his family and would start again, marrying a new lady in his new country.
The Yiddish message reads:
The husband is writing a letter for the New Year
A silent tear falls from his wife’s eye
Send us, God, a livelihood, good fortune,
And keep us separated no longer.
