Here’s to 1942, here’s to a year of toil—a year of struggle and peril, and a long step forward towards victory. May we all come through safe and with honour.
– Winston S Churchill, 1 January 1942. On a train from Ottawa to Washington, D.C., Churchill made this New Year’s toast to staff and reporters after summoning them to the dining car.
Substitute the year 2024 for 1942 and Churchill’s wartime toast fits this time as well. 2024 looks be a momentous year filled with struggle and peril, as Churchill warned for 1942.
May we be up to the task.
Maybe we simply need some toddlers riding on bats to come to our aid. Here are some vintage New Year’s Day cards to just let us know that our times may not be any more screwed up than those of previous generations.
Happy New Year.
Redtree Times 
What’s with all those pigs? It couldn’t be a commentary on holiday season eating, could it? I had to laugh at the first card particularly. My header photo today was of a belfry; you provided the bats, and memories of my mother’s oft-asked question during my teen years: “Do you have bats in your belfry?”
Yes, I always wondered why pigs, frogs, chickens, and root vegetables often figure prominently in greeting cards of that era.
Maybe because they didn’t have Grand Theft Auto and Netflix B-grade actors yet!
That’s true. Perhaps they had a little more space and time to let their imaginations run wild.