Help Me Out Here: Is The Family Christmas Letter A Uniquely American Tradition?

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Every year since my husband and I started having babies, I have written and mailed a family Christmas letter. The first year, I hand wrote it since we didn't have a home computer and I traced our infant son's hand in the letter. For me, our first letter was a sign I really was a grown up. After all, I now had a husband, a baby, a washing machine and an annual Christmas letter.

Today, I emailed this year's letter to a dear friend, a graduate student who has moved home to Milan.

"Thanks for the letter!" she emailed back. "Is it an American tradition? I've never read one before."


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