christmas cards
Britain's Prince Harry is presented with a Christmas card and framed photographs of Princess Diana during her visit to the hospital, by Kerry Reeves-Kneip, Director of Fundraising during a visit to Mildmay HIV hospital and charity in London, December 14, 2015. Reuters/Yui Mok/Pool

Beautifully designed with the images of Jesus’ Nativity and other Christmas tales, traditional Christmas cards are exchanged between people to express love, peace and several other feelings. An alternative range of Christmas cards has been launched by the Charity Doctors of the World UK, focusing on the hard core reality of the war-weary countries in the Middle East.

Doctors of the World was first established in France in 1980. Presently, it operates at a global level and addresses health issues in countries like Iraq, Turkey and Syria. The charity has used the common images of the Christmas narrative, which have been set in the backdrop of the war-torn countries like Syria. The cards are available in four different designs.

One of the images shows the Three Wise Men pointing at a plane launching missiles. Another image is that of Joseph and a pregnant Mary finding a shelter in a bombed-out city of the Middle East. The scene of Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus in a bombed out room exposes the harsh realities of people living in countries like Syria. The fourth image is that of Joseph and Mary tending to infant Jesus while a missile is launched in the sky above them.

Christmas card from Doctors of the World
One of the postcard images from #RealityXmas Cards by Doctors of the World. doctorsoftheworld.org.uk

BBC News has quoted Executive Director Leigh Daynes saying, “We’ve launched this campaign in the first week of Advent to shine a light on the realities of life in the Middle East at Christmas.” He also focused at the poor health conditions of the Syrians due to the frequent wars.

This idea is the brainchild of an advertising agency named McCann London that approached the organisation with these unique designs. The hashtag #realityxmas has become popular on social media promoting the alternative Christmas cards.

Mike Oughton of McCann has said that he wanted to show the contrast between the present devastated conditions of the Middle East and the messages of peace and love that are sent out during Christmas, as reported by Mirror. As Christmas is celebrated in several countries all over the world, the charity is looking forward to a have a huge sale of the unique Christmas cards.

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