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#6034
2025 First-Class Forever Stamp,Holly Wreath
$2.25
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US #6034
2025 Holly Wreath
- For use on 2025 holiday mail
- Part of set of four Holiday Cheer stamps
Stamp Category: Special
Set: Holiday Cheer
Value: 78¢, First Class mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue: September 13, 2025
First Day City: Washington, DC
Quantity Issued: 125,000,000
Printed by: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)
Printing Method: Offset
Format: Booklet of 20
Why the stamp was issued: The Holiday Cheer stamps were issued for use on mail sent during the 2025 holiday season.
About the stamp design: Each of the four designs picture a collage created by Denise Fiedler. She painted on paper from a vintage gardening book, then cut the paper into shapes. These, she pasted on an archival cotton board to create the stamps images. They include a holly wreath, amaryllis flowers, an evergreen branch with fruit, and cardinals on a mistletoe branch.
First Day City: The First Day of Issue ceremony took place at the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum in Washington, DC
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:
The traditional Christmas wreath hanging on the front door has become a welcoming gesture of friendship. Most often, a simple circle of evergreens decorated with a festive red bow greets visitors.
Wreaths have been created throughout the world for hundreds of years. Greek and Roman mythology first identified the wreath as having religious significance. These stories make references to wreaths as symbols of honor. In the Middle Ages, they were often created to look like the rosary, and in England, interweaving dried flowers and herbs was popular. As a display of the happiness felt on the day they proclaimed their religious devotion, nuns in 18th-century Mexico wore wreaths on their heads. In the United States, the tradition of combining fruits, vegetables, pinecones, and evergreens began in the Williamsburg settlement in Virginia over two centuries ago.
The Christmas wreath, usually made of holly leaves and berries, can be found hanging mainly in northern Europe, Canada, and the United States. Because holly leaves retain their green leaves and red berries through the winter, this plant has become a symbol of life. The prickers on the edge of the leaves are a reminder of the crown of thorns Jesus worn when he was crucified, and the red of the berries symbolize his blood. A holly wreath is not only a colorful decoration, but it's also a reminder that Christmas is just the beginning of Jesus’s story.
US #6034
2025 Holly Wreath
- For use on 2025 holiday mail
- Part of set of four Holiday Cheer stamps
Stamp Category: Special
Set: Holiday Cheer
Value: 78¢, First Class mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue: September 13, 2025
First Day City: Washington, DC
Quantity Issued: 125,000,000
Printed by: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)
Printing Method: Offset
Format: Booklet of 20
Why the stamp was issued: The Holiday Cheer stamps were issued for use on mail sent during the 2025 holiday season.
About the stamp design: Each of the four designs picture a collage created by Denise Fiedler. She painted on paper from a vintage gardening book, then cut the paper into shapes. These, she pasted on an archival cotton board to create the stamps images. They include a holly wreath, amaryllis flowers, an evergreen branch with fruit, and cardinals on a mistletoe branch.
First Day City: The First Day of Issue ceremony took place at the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum in Washington, DC
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:
The traditional Christmas wreath hanging on the front door has become a welcoming gesture of friendship. Most often, a simple circle of evergreens decorated with a festive red bow greets visitors.
Wreaths have been created throughout the world for hundreds of years. Greek and Roman mythology first identified the wreath as having religious significance. These stories make references to wreaths as symbols of honor. In the Middle Ages, they were often created to look like the rosary, and in England, interweaving dried flowers and herbs was popular. As a display of the happiness felt on the day they proclaimed their religious devotion, nuns in 18th-century Mexico wore wreaths on their heads. In the United States, the tradition of combining fruits, vegetables, pinecones, and evergreens began in the Williamsburg settlement in Virginia over two centuries ago.
The Christmas wreath, usually made of holly leaves and berries, can be found hanging mainly in northern Europe, Canada, and the United States. Because holly leaves retain their green leaves and red berries through the winter, this plant has become a symbol of life. The prickers on the edge of the leaves are a reminder of the crown of thorns Jesus worn when he was crucified, and the red of the berries symbolize his blood. A holly wreath is not only a colorful decoration, but it's also a reminder that Christmas is just the beginning of Jesus’s story.
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