Editing Christmas stamp

{{Short description|Stamp issued during the Christmas season}}
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[[File:Stamp of India - 2008 - Colnect 158016 - Merry Christmas - Madonna and Child.jpeg|thumb|A Christmas stamp from India featuring religious imagery]]
[[File:Timbre penny post Canada 1898.jpg|thumb|This Canadian stamp's Christmas connection is in the "XMAS 1898" at the bottom of the map.]]
A '''Christmas stamp''' is a [[postage stamp]] with a [[Christmas]] theme, intended for use on seasonal mail such as [[Christmas card]]s. Many countries issue such stamps, which are regular postage stamps (in contrast to [[Christmas seal]]s) and are usually valid for postage year-round (in some countries they have a discounted value and are for use exclusively on Christmas cards). They usually go on sale some time between early October and early December, and are printed in considerable quantities.

==History==
[[File:British Troops in Egypt, Christmas stamp 1935.jpg|right|thumb|British Troops in Egypt Christmas stamp, 1935]]
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Stamp HU 1943 20f Xmas.jpg|right|thumb|Hungarian nativity stamp, 1943]] -->
[[File:Stamp AU 1957 4p Xmas.jpg|thumb|First Christmas stamp of Australia, 1957]]

It is a matter of some debate as to which was the first Christmas stamp.  The [[Canada|Canadian]] map stamp of 1898 bears an inscription "XMAS 1898", but it was actually issued to mark the inauguration of the [[Imperial Penny Post]]age rate. The Christmas connection has long been reported to have been the result of quick thinking; [[William Mulock]] was proposing that it be issued on 9 November, to "honor the Prince" (meaning the [[Prince of Wales]]), but when [[Queen Victoria]] asked "what Prince?" in a displeased manner, Mulock realized the danger, and answered "Why, madam, the [[Prince of Princes|Prince of Peace]]."<ref>{{cite web |author=Michael O. Nowlan |url=http://www.psestamp.com/articles/article1087.chtml |title=Michael O. Nowlan, "How The First Christmas Stamp Came To Be" |publisher=Professional Stamp Experts |date=14 July 1999 |access-date=6 August 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222141355/http://www.psestamp.com/articles/article1087.chtml |archive-date=22 December 2015 }}</ref>

In 1935, [[British Armed Forces|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.<ref>http://www.gbos.org.uk/index.php/Country_List/13 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190104124348/http://www.gbos.org.uk/index.php/Country_List/13 |date=4 January 2019 }} www.gbos.org.uk</ref>

In 1937, [[Austria]] issued two "Christmas greeting stamps" featuring a [[rose]] and [[zodiac]] signs. In 1939, [[Brazil]] issued four [[semi-postal]] stamps with designs featuring the [[Three Wise Men|three kings]] and a star, an [[angel]] and child, the [[Southern Cross]] and a child, and a mother and child. In 1941 [[Hungary]] also issued a semi-postal whose additional fees were to pay for "soldiers' Christmas".  The first stamps to depict the [[Nativity of Jesus in art|Nativity]] were the Hungary issue of 1943. These were all one-time issues, more like [[commemorative stamp]]s than regular issues.

The next Christmas stamps did not appear until 1951, when [[Cuba]] issued designs with [[poinsettia]]s 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. [[Islami]]c countries constitute the largest group of non-participants, although the [[Palestinian Authority]] has issued Christmas stamps since 1995.

==Designs==
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Stamp Peru 1970 1.20s Xmas.jpg|right|upright|thumb|Peru's 1970 stamps reproduced paintings by anonymous Peruvian artists.]] -->

Although some tropical islands produce large-format Christmas stamps primarily intended for sale to [[stamp collector]]s, for the rest of the world, Christmas stamps are "working stamps" that will be used in large numbers to send greeting cards and postcards.  Accordingly, the stamps tend to be normal-sized, and offered in one or a few denominations, for instance to cover differing domestic and international rates.

The choice of designs is highly variable, ranging from an overtly religious image of the [[Nativity of Jesus in art|Nativity]], to secular images of [[Christmas tree]]s, [[wreath]]s, [[Santa Claus]], and so forth.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1466893/Secular-Christmas-stamps-attacked.html|title=Secular Christmas stamps attacked|first=Jonathan Petre, Religion|last=Correspondent|date=12 July 2004|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}</ref> 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 [[United States Postal Service|Postal Service]] issuing some of each per year; typically a group of 4–6 related secular designs, plus a religious design (usually depicting the [[Madonna and Child]]). To avoid difficulties attendant upon contracting for original designs with a religious theme, the latter have typically been adapted from [[Old Master]] paintings hanging in U.S. galleries, thus qualifying as depictions of art. (In 2012, 2014, and 2016, however, religious-themed stamps were issued featuring original designs depicting the [[flight into Egypt]], the journey of the [[Biblical Magi|Magi]], and the [[Nativity of Jesus]], respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2012/pr12_113.htm |title=U.S. Postal Service Issues Holy Family Forever Stamp |publisher=USPS |date=10 October 2012 |access-date=6 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2014/pb22400/html/info_008.htm |title=Stamp Announcement 14–48: Christmas Magi Stamp |publisher=USPS |date=16 October 2014 |access-date=6 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2016/pb22451/html/info_005.htm|title=Stamp Announcement 16–42: Nativity Stamp |publisher=USPS |date=29 September 2016 |access-date=15 November 2016}}</ref>) In the United Kingdom, the [[Royal Mail]] resolves the difficulty by issuing "religious" and "secular" themed designs in alternate years.

== Gallery ==
<gallery class="center">
File:2002._Stamp_of_Belarus_0494.jpg|Belarus 2002, stylised angel
File:Joulu_1974.jpg|1974 Finland Christmas elves
File:19921121_10rub_Latvia_Postage_Stamp.jpg|Latvia 2009
File:LIE_1979_MiNr0738_mt_B002a.jpg|Stamp from a 1979 series in Liechtenstein, commemorating tapestries by [[Ferdinand Nigg (artist)|Ferdinand Nigg]] (1865-1949), this stamp titled "Annunciation of Mary"
File:Stamps_of_Romania,_2003-74.jpg|Romania 2003 featuring Santa Claus-like figure and a large envelope
File:Stamp_of_Armenia_-_2009_-_Colnect_195654_-_Happy_New_Year.jpeg|Stamps aren't always rectangular. Armenia triangular New Year stamp, featuring a Christmas tree
File:Stamp_of_Rwanda_-_1970_-_Colnect_698991_-_Christmas.jpeg|1970 Rwanda stamp featuring [[The Adoration of the Shepherds]] by Jose de Riber
</gallery>

==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|date=February 2023}} 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 [[topical collecting]]. Because of the quantities printed, almost all Christmas stamps are easy to come by and of negligible cost. Collecting challenges would therefore be to get [[Cover (philately)|covers]] with apropos [[postal marking]]s, such as a postmark on Christmas Day (not all post offices get the day off), from a particular location (such as [[Christmas Island]]; [[Christmas, Florida]]; [[Noel, Missouri]]; [[North Pole, Alaska]]; [[North Pole, New York]]; or [[Santa Claus, Indiana]]), or bearing a specific Christmas theme or slogan.

The Christmas Philatelic Club was formed in 1969 by Christmas stamp collectors and issues a quarterly journal, the ''[[Yule Log]]''. A number of collectors treat Christmas collecting as a subcategory of religion on stamps.

==Other holiday stamps==
{{main|Holiday stamp}}
The United States has occasionally issued stamps for other holidays, such as [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]] and [[New Year's Day]]. Since the 1990s, stamps for [[Kwanzaa]], [[Hanukkah]], [[Eid ul-Fitr|Eid]], and [[Chinese New Year]] have become a regular part of the holiday program, although in contrast to Christmas stamps the designs tend to be re-used for several years, distinguishable only by a different denomination or year date.

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.

[[Holiday stamp#Saint Valentine's Day stamp|Valentine's Day stamps]] are a more recent tradition in some countries.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Expand section|full bibliographic details|date=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)

==External links==
{{Commons category|Christmas on stamps}}
* [http://web.295.ca/cpc/ Christmas Philatelic Club homepage]
* [https://www.stampnews.com/tags/christmas-stamps Latest Christmas Stamps over the world (since 2004)]

{{Christmas}}

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[[Category:Christmas art|Stamp]]
[[Category:Christmas traditions|Stamp]]
[[Category:Philatelic terminology]]
[[Category:Topical postage stamps]]