Christmas is coming. . .

We see the same trend every year. Beginning as early as October, countries around the world begin issuing stamps celebrating Christmas. Some nations also issue stamps celebrating Hanukkah and Ramadan, both holidays that occur at approximately the same season, but most stamps, either of a religious or non-religious (and often, both) theme begin appearing in profusion. The United States has also begun issuing "Kwanzaa" stamps to promote the ideals of black/African spirit of unity.

It's great to celebrate the "season", but some people over-do it. Many countries issue stamps just for the revenue, with little thought for the season it celebrates. Still, there's a profound effect from this outpouring of philatelic issues.

• Most people choose to use these stamps on all their holiday mail, including their bills.
• Most people get a lift from receiving mail with these stamps attached.
• Post offices get rich!

Christmas stamps are a relatively new tradition. Very few issues appeared before 1960, and the growth since then has been sporadic. Today, many countries, including the United States, issue stamps with both a religious theme (celebrating the Birth of Jesus of Nazareth, for whom the season is named) and a non-religious theme (usually relating to gift-giving and a red-suited elf).

The original "Christmas" stamps were seals issued by various charities, beginning in the latter part of the 19th century. Charity groups in the United States began issuing Christmas Seals in 1907. Most of these early Christmas seals were issued by the American Red Cross or local chapters. The National Tuberculosis Association took over issuing Christmas Seals in 1920, and has continued to present, with a few name changes. Other groups have also issued Christmas seals, Easter Seals, and other charity labels. Some of the agencies that have issued Christmas seals of their own are Cal Farley's Boy's Ranch, Omaha's Father Flannigan Boys Town, Star Homes, and dozens of others.

Christmas seals aren't unique to the United States. Charitable institutions in more than 200 nations have issued some form of label to raise funds. At one time, I collected foreign Christmas seals. My collection had more than 2000 items from 70 different nations, including Korea, Sweden, Germany, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina. That's just a very short list of what's available to collect!

Christmas seals didn't actually pay postage, and most were without any value denomination on them. They were sent in hopes that people would make contributions to the charity that sent them. Some countries began issuing stamps that included two values - a postal value and another value to be collected for charity. These stamps are referred to as "semi-postal" stamps, since the purchase price is only partially used to pay for postal delivery.

Go To Page: 1 2