1990 25c Christmas Tree & Greetings

US #2515
1990 Christmas Greetings

• 1990 Contemporary Christmas stamp
• Printed in sheet and booklet format
  
  

Stamp Category:  Special
Set:  Contemporary Christmas
Value:  25¢, First Class Mail Rate
First Day of Issue:  October 18, 1990
First Day City:  Evergreen, Colorado
Quantity Issued:  600,000,000
Printed by:  American Bank Note Company
Printing Method:  gravure
Format:  Sheets of 50

Why the stamp was issued:  The stamp was issued for use on Christmas cards sent out during the 1990 season.

About the stamp design:  Artist Libby Thiel made a paper tree and decorated it for the design on the stamp.  The ornaments are made of scraps of paper.  The garland is from twisted green paper.  She then recreated the image as a silk screen print.

First Day City:  The USPS traditionally issues its Christmas stamps in towns that relate to the season.  Evergreen, Colorado, near Denver, was chosen for the 1990 ceremony.

About the Contemporary Christmas series:  The US issued its first Christmas stamp (picturing a wreath and candles) on November 1, 1962, and it was wildly popular.  The Post Office printed 350 million stamps, the largest print run for a special stamp up to that time, but still the stamps quickly sold out.  The Bureau of Engraving and Printing produced more to satisfy demand and the total number issued was over 860 million by the end of the year.
In 1966, the Post Office started issuing traditional themed Christmas stamps picturing Madonna and Child and other religious icons.  In 1969, they switched back to non-religious Christmas designs with a stamp picturing the painting Winter Sunday in Norway, Maine. 
Finally, in 1970, the Post Office decided to permanently split Christmas stamps into two categories to satisfy everyone: Traditional and Contemporary.  They issued a block of four stamps picturing Christmas toys along with a stamp picturing a classic painting of the Nativity.  The decision to do both proved popular, and the Post Office has continued to issue stamps in both categories ever since.

History the stamp represents:  A fully decorated fir tree is one of the universal symbols of Christmas.  The very fragrance of spruce, balsam, and cedar conjures up images of Christmases past and Christmases yet to come.
It seems like Christmas trees have always been with us, but this is not so.  It is believed the practice began with the German-speaking peoples.  One legend claims people brought fir trees indoors for the winter solstice after a missionary convinced them that this was a better way to celebrate life rather than sacrificing their youth in the dark forest.  Another story claims Martin Luther began the practice. 
Although German immigrants adorned their holiday tables with fir trees, the practice did not become fashionable in the United States until German-born Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband, set up the first Christmas tree in Buckingham Palace.  New York City’s high society, predominantly Anglo-Saxon, jumped on board.  The practice spread through the land and within five decades, Christmas without an evergreen tree was simply not Christmas.