"The messages on the Tree of Life cards are meaningful and emotional and impart our most sincere wishes for a happy and healthy New Year."

The 1997 Tree of Life card line, designed specifically for Jewish consumers, features 80 designs and incorporates a number of new themes such as atonement, Jewish recipes and family heirlooms. The collection is largely based on the Hallmark creative team's trip to Israel last year, the purpose of which was to inspire culturally relevant cards for Jewish consumers.

One outgrowth of that trip is the "Heirloom Collection," introduced last Chanukah and now added to the new Rosh Hashanah line. The collection features photographs and anecdotes about heirlooms that have significance in the lives of various Jewish people.

For example, one card pictures a sewing box on the cover and the inside of the card reads: "This sewing box belonged to a proud little tailor named Harry. He once joked, `I'll never die rich, and I'll never die tall.'

"In the end, he did something more — he lived with courage, he loved with a pure heart and, always, he carried with him simple faith and goodness, allowing him to stand taller than anyone could ever measure. May you be well and happy as a brand-new year of opportunity unfolds. Happy New Year."

Tree of Life has also created a line of cards designed for the period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, entitled "Making Amends."

Hallmark introduced its first Rosh Hashanah cards in the 1940s and has continually updated their style and design. In 1994 Hallmark formed the Ethnic Business Center, dedicated to creating and marketing products specifically for Jewish, African-American and Hispanic consumers. Today, Tree of Life offers Jewish consumers a variety of products for seasonal and everyday occasions.