In 1907, the first Christmas Seals were sold to the public in the United States. These decorative self adhesive stickers were based on a Danish tradition started by a postal worker looking to raise money for children stricken with tuberculosis. The labels looked like stamps. But they weren't official postage. Still, the portrait of Holland's Queen Louise with it's scarlet background and filigree decor became an immediate hit.
To prevent the seal from being misidentified as a stamp, the United States postal service required the Christmas Seal to be placed on the back of postcards or envelope. But since the stamp goes on the back of a postcard, does that mean that the Christmas Seal goes on the front???
In 1920, the iconic red double cross first appeared on Christmas Seals. It's presence has helped to distinguish stamps from Christmas Seals.
In the past 50 years, Christmas Seals has expanded to cover a variety of lung diseases, including asthma as the number of tuberculosis have dropped off from early 20th century levels. Research and care for those with lung cancer, COVID-19 and programs cleaner air and tobacco cessation have been funded by the sale of Christmas Seals. Being an asthmatic, I've probably benefited from the charitable donations made from the American Lung Association in asthma medication research and development.
If you are interested in upping your Christmas card game with some holiday flare, think about making a donation here in return for some iconic and festive labels.
For today's Advent Present, I'm being silly. That's because I've selected a holiday song from beloved Anglo-Nigerian singer Seal. I HAD TO DO IT! I couldn't resist. Here's Seal's 2015 version of This Christmas.
Enjoy!
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