A set of four U.S. Forever stamps celebrating iconic Christmas Carols was issued by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) last month.
Issued on Oct. 5, each of the stamps illustrates a major theme of a beloved Christmas carol, including “Jingle Bells,” “Deck the Halls,” “Silent Night” and “Jolly Old Saint Nicholas.” Familiar lines from each song highlight the individual stamps. The shades of blue in the backgrounds of the stamps evoke the evening scenes from the four carols. This booklet of 20 stamps includes five of each design. The late Howard E. Paine was the art director. Artist Steve McCracken, of Winchester, Va., created original art for the project.
“The popularity of Christmas stamps is something celebrated and shared by both stamp collectors and the general public,” said Jay Bigalke, editor of the American Philatelic Society’s American Philatelist. “It’s an honour to be a part of this moment in history introducing a new set of stamps to the nation.”
FIRST-DAY CEREMONY
A first-day ceremony was held on Oct. 5 at the American Stamp Dealers Association’s Fall Stamp Show in New York.
“We’re excited to continue one of the Postal Service’s long standing traditions—celebrating the holidays with new stamps,” said USPS Brand Marketing Executive Director Christopher Karpenko. “This year’s selections were inspired by some of America’s favourite Christmas carols, sung and adored by children and adults alike since the 18th century. Translated into dozens of languages, these timeless classics are so recognizable. When holiday items arrive in mailboxes with these stamps, we expect recipients will be humming the tune of the carol lyrics they see—either in their heads or out loud.”