This year’s Royal Mail Christmas stamps, issued on 8 November, feature scenes inspired by the Nativity.  The Madonna and Child appear on the 1^st Class stamp and Joseph being visited by the Angel on the 2^nd Class stamp.

The stamps are set to be appear on millions of cards and letters sharing Christmas greetings between friends and family in the UK and overseas. In fact Royal Mail’s festive mailbag is expected to be bulging with around two billion items. On its busiest days, around 130 million items will enter Royal Mail’s delivery network – more than double the average daily number. 

The seven stamps are inspired by verses from the Gospels of Mathew and Luke and recognise that 2011 is the 400^th anniversary of the King James Bible.

Stephen Agar from Royal Mail said: “Christmas stamps help deliver festive messages of good cheer and celebration, not only in the UK but also around the world.

“This year’s stamps feature scenes from the Nativity, together with the gospel references from the King James Bible which inspired them.”

The 1^st Class Stamp features the Madonna and child, while the 2^nd class shows Joseph being visited by the Angel. The 1^st and 2^nd Class stamps are available in two sizes: a standard version for regular letters and a ‘large letter’ version for larger mail.

The other Christmas stamps depict Baby Jesus in the manger (68p stamp), the shepherds visited by the Angel (£1.10) and the wise men and star (£1.65). 

published October 9th, 2011