Shuffle your cards and cut the deck on National Card Playing Day, December 28. It is the ideal activity when spending time with your family. The Christmas hustle and bustle is over, and the excitement from opening presents has diminished. There’s nothing like a slow-paced game of cards to relax while having fun with family and friends!
The origin of Card Playing Day is unclear, it is a simple activity that has turned into a tradition after the busy holiday season. Family game night is already a thing, but elaborate board games can be too competitive and take longer to set up. It doesn’t take much to start playing a game of cards.
Playing cards have been around for a long time, but they didn’t start out as the 52-card deck we recognize today. It all began in 9th Century China when people from the Tang dynasty began developing games using paper and objects that spread from China to different parts of the world.
In India, the card game Ganjifa played by The Great Mughals had 10 suits in a deck. Court artists hand-painted detailed scenes onto each of the 120 cards. The deck eventually evolved into four suits of swords, cups, sticks, and coins.
These four suits were further developed into the modern deck we all know today, featuring hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades. There are different ideas on how this happened. One theory says that these symbols represent the aristocracy, clergy, peasantry, and military.
A diamond card suit’s symbolism is tied to wealth or riches since diamonds are an expensive stone. A heart card suit’s symbolism refers to the more spiritual side of life. It encompasses concepts like priesthood, love, and making vows.
A club card suit’s symbolism represents the everyman and the salt of the Earth with a peasant’s club. A spade card suit’s symbolism refers to any military blade – swords and pikes.
Another theory suggests that the four suits represent the four seasons. The 52 cards in a deck are believed to represent the total weeks in a year.
Today, thousands of card games are enjoyed by people around the world. The most popular card games include Spades, Hearts, Solitaire, Gin Rummy, Black Jack, and, of course, Poker.
Whatever your favorite card game is, invite your family and friends to assemble and play a family favorite or try a new game on December 28th, National Card Playing Day.