Mail Adventures: Epiphany

Showing posts with label Epiphany. Show all posts

06 January 2026

Happy Epiphany

Tři králové (='Three Kings'), 1955)
Josef Lada

Wie schön, dass du geboren bist
('How wonderful that you were born')

Postcard sent by Tomáš (Czech Republic) and Bruno (PC).

02 January 2026

Are They Nearly Here Yet?

After Christmas and the New Year... We are waiting for the Magi!

Card sent by Phillip (the USA).

30 December 2025

24 December 2025

Christmas stamps

Christmas stamps I received along 2025*:

Canada

1984. Snow in Bethlehem, by David Milne

1985. Santa Claus Parade

2023. Designed by Jocelyne Saulnier

Czech Republic

2020. Illustration by Josep Lada

Denmark

This stamp features Christiansfeld and belongs to the series about UNESCO WHS in Denmark (2020). But any stamp become a Christmas stamp when you apply a festive postmark on it, doesn't it?

France

1966. Georges de La Tour (1593-1652), Le nouveau-né (='The new born').

(Not issued, but sent, as Christmas stamps)

2013. Les Petits Bonheurs: Bienveillance (='Little Joys: Kindness')

2021. Ensemble, fêtons un Noël qui fait du bien

(='Let's celebrate a feel-good Christmas together)

Spain

2024. Tradition of cans dragging by children, Algeciras

United Kingdom

2001. Christmas Skating on Bird Bath (Designed by A. Robins and H. Brown)

2020. Window of St Andrew’s Church, Coln Rogers, Gloucestershire

United States of America

1967. (First stamp issued by USPS to feature the Madonna and Child)

2014. Christmas Magi

2020. Our Lady of Guapulo, 18th century. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

2024. Label

2014. Christmas Magi

2016. Nativity Scene

2020. Our Lady of Guapulo, 18th century. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

2018. Global: Poinsettia

2022. Snowy Beauty: Winterberry

2023. Snow Globes

2024. Holiday Joy

2024. Madonna and Child by Sassoferrato

2024. Holiday Joy

2024. Winter Whimsy

2025. Holiday Cheer

(Faint, but I got one of the new Christmas tree pictorial postmarks!)

*Some of them are the same than in previous years. But I keep going these again and again and, certainly... I do not mind!

06 January 2025

Although the Christmas season finishes today, I think it is the right time to upload this postcard received by Heleen (the Netherlands) last year. It shows the Three Wise Men, pictured by Anton Pieck.

Letter sent by Alan (the UK).

05 January 2025

Sunday Stamps | Arrastre de Latas

The Spanish postal company, Correos, usually issues two Christmas stamps: A-rate (for letters within Spain) and B-rate (for letters to most of European countries). One thing I like about the A-rate stamp is that Merry Christmas is written in the four official languages of Spain: Galician, Catalan, Basque and Spanish.

This year, one of the stamps features a curious tradition in Algeciras (Spain): the Arrastre de Latas (='Can Dragging'), an event that originated in 1900.

According to the popular legend, the tradition began in a time of economic hardship, when the Three Wise Men left no toys in the city and parents told their children that they had fallen asleep. Since then, children drag cans with the idea of making a lot of noise and preventing the Three Wise Men from forgetting their city again.

Nowadays, tens of thousands of children and adults participate with creations made from recycled cans. Every year, the sculptures that line the streets are more impressive, and a competition is organized that rewards the most original and creative ones.