Front:
25
Greetings
GREE
OCT 8
18
1990
25
Greetings
Back:
THE WONDERS OF CHRISTMAS
First Day of Issue: October 18, 1990
First Issue Location: Evergreen, Colorado
If the celebration of the birth of Christ were compacted
into one year, the tradition of the Christmas Tree would be
but days old. Though the exact date of origin is disputed,
it is widely recognized that the Christmas Tree is a
German invention dating roughly from the 16th or 17th
centuries. Early legend has it that the first Christmas tree
was cut down by Martin Luther and decorated with
candles to represent the star-filled Holy Night in Bethle-
hem. German immigrants brought their ways — includ-
ing the Christmas Tree as a holiday tradition— to the New
World. Today, the Christmas tree is the centerpiece of
Christmas celebrations across the nation, and can take on
many sizes and shapes: from giant saguaro cactus in
sunny, dry Arizona to rich, green fir trees in the snow-
frosted New England states or modernistic trees such as
the one depicted on these 1990 Christmas stamps de-
signed for the U.S. Postal Service by Libby Thiel of Bryan's
Road, Maryland. These stamps were issued in booklet
and sheet formats.
No. 90-45
©1990 The Maximum Card Collection
A Division of Unicover Corporation . Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007
® Original painting by Ed Little
