November 2006
Hear this page read aloud
On 7 November 2006 Royal Mail releases this year's Christmas stamps...the final set for 2006!
The first British Christmas stamps were issued in December 1966 and have continued to be released every year since. They are arguably the most eagerly awaited stamps in the Royal Mail stamp calendar and to many they are an important tradition associated with the festive season.
40th anniversary of Christmas stamps in Britain
To mark the 40th anniversary of British Christmas stamps we are taking a trip down memory lane and looking at the first set ever to be issued back in December 1966.
Although the world's first stamp, the Penny Black, was a British innovation, Britain was surprisingly slow at adopting special stamps at Christmas time compared to other countries. However, when Tony Benn became Postmaster General in 1965, he decided that Britain should also issue Christmas stamps and ran a competition to have the stamps designed by children.
Classic Christmas designs
With fourty years of Christmas designs in our archive to choose from, we were spolt for choice! The stamps below are from a more classic design issue: Illuminated Letters from "Acts of Mary and Jesus" Manuscript in Bodleian Library, Oxford from November 1991.
The Bodleian Library, affectionately known to Oxford scholars as 'the Bod', is the main research library in the University of Oxford. Dating back to 1602, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It is also the second largest library in England - the largest being the British Library.
Why not visit our Stamp of the Month exhibition for 2007?
