Not much of an X-mas card™ - the origin story

I keep meaning to write about why and how I started writing the not-much-of-an-xmas card, and since I promised myself to write more on here, maybe the time is now.

I started sending out the card — in its current form — back in 2018. During a period when I was celebrating Christmas in the lonely silence of an otherwise bustling with noise Italian dormitory.

The first card is simple – mostly with the parts I had in my backpack every day and a scene photographed in front of a card I received from a loved one just in time.

It was photographed at the desk which at that moment served as an almost permanent extension of my body and was left only for food, coffee, and a walk to the lake.

The wishes, back then as well as now, are a combination of what I want to wish for specific loved ones, for myself, for the world.

And, forever, the last wish will remain the same. Whispered by the universe in the shared chill of a Milanese October evening.

Among the main reasons for starting to send this card is the fact that I sincerely believe that if we want to see more of anything in the world, the change should start with us. At that moment, I wanted connection and tradition. As of today — seven years later — I think that both are slowly being built.

When I started writing and sending this email, I did not expect that so many people would recognize their needs in my words or that it would touch them in the way some of the responses have shown me. The surprise was pleasant, and one of my favourite things in the new year is to slowly read the responses I’ve received.

I also did not suspect that Christmas is a difficult time for many people – everyone having their own reasons.

In a handful of months or so, I will make the eighth scene in a row with a naughty cat, a not very helpful in bringing it down a dog and a tired Lego figure. I will write another word or two, hoping to comfort another weary soul.

In the meantime, I wish us a year of contentment and days that do not weigh us down.

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Zmeyche

Oslo, 01/04/2025