Christmas Carols 2017 Forever Stamps — Double-Sided Booklet of 20

Issue facts

Issued: October 5, 2017
First Day City: New York, NY
Printed by: Banknote Corporation of America
Method: Offset
Format: Double-sided booklet of 20

The man behind Santa Claus

Santa is the most recognizable symbol of Christmas, and he is based on someone who actually lived: Saint Nicholas.

Born to wealthy Christian parents who died in an epidemic while he was young, Nicholas was taken in by his uncle, a bishop of the same name. He was seriously devout, and he began quietly spending his inheritance on the sick and the poor — leaving gifts down chimneys at night. When a few people worked out who was responsible, he asked them to keep it quiet. He did not want the credit.

How the tradition spread

In the Middle Ages, French nuns took up the practice, leaving pouches of coins, food and treats in the homes of the needy overnight. Asked where the gifts came from, they would say only that it must have been Saint Nicholas. Anonymous giving — and eventually the carols — grew out of that answer.

One carol in particular

"Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" began as a poem by Emily Huntington Miller, published in December 1865 as "Lilly's Secret." It was later set to James Lord Pierpont's 1857 melody for "Jingle Bells."

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