WHAT TO COLLECT?

Christmas Philatelic Interests

Members collect a variety of philatelic items. It is up to the individual collector to choose what they are especially interested in. Click the links to find out more about the following examples:

• STAMPS . . . Many members collect Christmas stamps in a variety of ways . . . used or mint, singly, in blocks, pairs, booklets, sheets, as souvenir sheets or on covers. Varieties and errors exist on Christmas issues as well. Christmas stamps are beautiful.

  When was the first Christmas stamp issued? Could Hungary's 1943 Issue be the World's First Christmas Stamp? . . . an article from the Yule Log of August, 1985. Many collectors believe that Canada's 1898 Map Stamp is the World's First Christmas stamp. Read George H. Johnston IV's Stamps of the Season . . . for another look at the tradition of Christmas stamps.

  An extensive collection can be made from collecting the Christmas stamps of just one country, especially if you include all the varieties of each issue. Here is a list of United States Christmas Issues 1962-1995.

  For a list of worldwide Christmas Issues, check out the Christmas Resources page for "Christmas Stamps of the World" by CPC member Ev Foster.

  Members can specialize in collecting a particular stamp issue. For example, an extensive collection can be made of the United States 1969 'Christmas in Norway, Maine' issue. See Christmas Resources for information on how you can obtain a copy of CPC member Donne Puckle's study of this issue.

  Now available Christmas Stamps List 1991-2003 in PDF format. Thanks to CPC member Pat Prevey for preparing this list. Download Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0
  Updated Additions to the Christmas Stamps List

• CHRISTMAS SEALS . . . are collected by many members. It is a relatively inexpensive way to enjoy Christmas collecting. Seals like stamps can also be collected in many different formats including tied on covers. Read the 12 Ways of Christmas Seal Collecting written by  Betsy and Chuck Berry.

  United States Christmas Seal Designers 1907-2004 . . . a list of Christmas Seal artists

  Visit the American Lung Association's Seals Site .     You can send a Christmas Seals postcard via e-mail.

  Browse the Canadian Christmas Seal Gallery and see illustrations of seals from 1927 to the present.

• COVERS . . . need not have a Christmas stamp on them to be collectible by the Christmas philatelist. Some examples of interesting Christmas covers would include: stampless covers with postmarks dated Dec. 25, a postage due or other post office marking with a Christmas connection, slogans relating to Christmas etc. Cover collectors enjoy doing research to find an explanation of the delivery path and special markings found on covers.

• POSTMARKS . . . from cities with a Christmas name such as Bethlehem, Christmas, North Pole, Santa Claus, Noel, Evergreen etc. are avidly collected by the Christmas philatelist. Many of the Christmas-named places in the United States and around the world give a pictorial cancel. Christmas Island, Nova Scotia issued its third consecutive Christmas cancel in 1996.

  This is a list of cities with Christmas names in the United States.

• CHRISTKINDL POSTMARKS:    CHRISTKINDL . . . a small village in Austria with a seasonal post office. The annual pictorial cancels from this village are much sought after by Christmas collectors.

• SILENT NIGHT on stamps, seals and covers. Quite an extensive collection of material can be amassed on the theme of the world's most famous Christmas carol. A seasonal postmark is available from the town of its origin, Oberndorf, Austria. 
  
  Visit some web sites devoted to the famous carol:  Silent Night     Silent Night Web

• METER IMPRESSIONS . . . with a Christmas theme are a colorful addition to a Christmas collection.

• FIRST DAY COVERS . . . with various cachets available are collected by a representative number of collectors. Some members select a favorite Christmas issue and find it quite a challenge to try to assemble as many different cachets as possible for that one stamp issue. Others collect all the cachets of a certain artist.
  
• POSTAL STATIONERY . . . A wide variety of material is available to the Christmas collector in this field including airletters and postal cards issued by many countries.

• SANTA CLAUS REPLY LETTERS . . . many postal entities send replies to children's letters at Christmas time and these replies are often sought by the Christmas collector. Usually, Santa's replies  come in special envelopes with a distinctive postmark or meter impression. Canada Post, Australia, Finland, Christkindl are a few of the countries that send out letters or cards to children.
  
  
  A THEMATIC PHILATELIC COLLECTION

Since there is a vast amount of Christmas material available, many Christmas collectors specialize in a particular theme related to Christmas. Some popular areas of interest are listed here.

OTHER CHRISTMAS INTERESTS

As with other philatelic themes, Christmas collecting can spill over into a collection of non-philatelic items such as the following:

Celebrate Christmas all year long...
Join the Christmas Philatelic Club

E-mail: cpc@hwcn.org
Web Site: http://www.hwcn.org/link/cpc

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Revised: 04/12/2006 kw