Christmas stamp
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A Christmas stamp is a
History
It is a matter of some debate as to which was the first Christmas stamp. The
In 1935, British Forces troops stationed in Egypt were issued with a Christmas stamp for their mail home. For many years these were not included in the Stanley Gibbons catalogues, as they classified them as a “seal” rather than a postage stamp, but they have been properly included since the mid-1960s as they prepaid postage and so, despite the inscription "Letter stamp", are normal stamps, and should therefore be counted as the first stamp issued expressly to mark Christmas. Like the slightly earlier Silver Jubilee overprints on the “sphinx” stamp, the Christmas stamps were issued in booklet form in panes of 20.[2]
In 1937,
The next Christmas stamps did not appear until 1951, when Cuba issued designs with poinsettias and bells, followed by Haiti in 1954, Luxembourg and Spain in 1955, and Australia, South Korea, and Liechtenstein in 1957. In cases such as Australia, the issuance marked the first of what became an annual tradition. Many additional countries took up the practice during the 1960s, including the United States in 1962 and the United Kingdom in 1966.
By the 1990s, approximately 160 postal administrations were issuing Christmas stamps, mostly on an annual basis.
Designs
Although some tropical islands produce large-format Christmas stamps primarily intended for sale to
The choice of designs is highly variable, ranging from an overtly religious image of the Nativity, to secular images of Christmas trees, wreaths, Santa Claus, and so forth.[3] A country may maintain a unified theme for several years, then change it drastically, in some cases seemingly to follow "fashion moves" by other countries. For instance, during the 1970s many countries issued Christmas stamps featuring children's drawings, with the young artist identified by name and age.
The choice of secular or religious designs is frequently a bone of contention in some countries; church leaders often see secular designs as diluting the meaning of the holiday, while postal officials fear that overly religious designs could lead their secular or minority-religious customers to avoid the stamps, leaving millions unsold, and even expose the postal administration to charges that they are violating laws prohibiting the promotion of a particular religion.
In the United States, annual discord over "secular" versus "religious" designs was eventually resolved by the
Usage
The typical usage of Christmas stamps is to quickly apply them to a stack of Christmas cards to go out. In the age of email, Christmas stamps may represent some individuals' largest remaining use of stamps in a year, and it is not unusual to see "leftovers" appear on regular mail during the first months of the new year.[citation needed] In Australia and the Netherlands, Christmas stamps are sold at a discount, but can be used after Christmas with additional stamps to make up the correct rate.
Collecting
Christmas is a popular theme for
The Christmas Philatelic Club was formed in 1969 by Christmas stamp collectors and issues a quarterly journal, the
Other holiday stamps
The United States has occasionally issued stamps for other holidays, such as
In Japan, there is a longstanding tradition of a New Year's stamp. A number of Easter stamps have also been issued, but these are largely aimed at collectors.
Valentine's Day stamps are a more recent tradition in some countries.
References
- ^ Michael O. Nowlan (14 July 1999). "Michael O. Nowlan, "How The First Christmas Stamp Came To Be"". Professional Stamp Experts. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
- ^ http://www.gbos.org.uk/index.php/Country_List/13 Archived 4 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine www.gbos.org.uk
- ^ Correspondent, Jonathan Petre, Religion (12 July 2004). "Secular Christmas stamps attacked" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "U.S. Postal Service Issues Holy Family Forever Stamp". USPS. 10 October 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
- ^ "Stamp Announcement 14–48: Christmas Magi Stamp". USPS. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
- ^ "Stamp Announcement 16–42: Nativity Stamp". USPS. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
Further reading
This section needs expansion with: full bibliographic details. You can help by adding to it. (June 2013) |
- Waller Sager and Kathleen Berry, 75 Years of Christmas Stamps (1971)
- Everleigh Foster, Christmas Stamps of the World (American Topical Association Handbook 120, 1990)