U.S. #3006
1995 32¢ Child Holding Tree
Contemporary Christmas
Issue Date: September 30, 1995
City: North Pole, NY
Quantity: 75,000,000
Printed By: Sterling Sommers for Ashton-Potter (USA) Ltd
Printing Method: Lithographed
Perforations: 11.2
Color: Multicolored
Child Holding Tree
Each December, millions of Americans express a longing for an
old-fashioned Christmas. Many are convinced that Christmas isn’t what it
used to be, envisioning Currier and Ives scenes of blazing Yule logs,
candle-lit Christmas trees, and snowy sleigh rides.
Many consider the Christmas of Victorian America to be the
quintessential holiday. But the truth is, Christmas and many of its
seemingly age-old traditions didn’t gain popularity until the latter
half of the nineteenth century. In fact, well into the 1800s, there were those who emphatically insisted that Christmas was “shameful.”
The early English Puritans who settled America wanted nothing to do
with the Roman Church’s “Christ-mass.” Since the actual day of Christ’s
birth had been lost, and December 25th had merely been assigned by the
Roman Catholics, they declared Christmas was a human invention.
But despite the opposition, Christmas managed to survive. Settlers
from other parts of Europe brought with them their traditions of
celebrating Christmas and gradually these Old World customs were blended
together to create what has become the most popular day of the year –
one that for children and adults alike is filled with magic, wonder, and
excitement.