A special stamp is a type of

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...

typically intended for use on special occasions and holidays that occur repeatedly.

Christmas stamp A Christmas stamp is a postage stamp with a Christmas theme, intended for use on seasonal mail such as Christmas cards. Many countries issue such stamps, which are regular postage stamps (in contrast to Christmas seals) and are usually valid ...

s, with a seasonal design, and used in vast numbers to mail

Christmas card A Christmas card is a greeting card sent as part of the traditional celebration of Christmas in order to convey between people a range of sentiments related to Christmastide and the holiday season. Christmas cards are usually exchanged during ...

s, are the most familiar, but in recent years a number of other types have appeared. The characteristics separating special stamps from

definitive stamp A definitive stamp is a postage stamp that is part of the regular issue of a country's stamps, available for sale by the post office for an extended period of time and designed to serve the everyday postal needs of the country. The term is used in ...

s and

commemorative stamp A commemorative stamp is a postage stamp, often issued on a significant date such as an anniversary, to honor or commemorate a place, event, person, or object. The ''subject'' of the commemorative stamp is usually spelled out in print, unlike defi ...

s are not precise; like definitives, they are "working stamps" printed in large quantities and mostly used on mails, but they also commemorate specific occasions and typically have a more elaborate and attractive

design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

. Unlike commemoratives, they are issued some weeks in advance of the occasion being marked, so that they are available during the season of interest. In addition to Christmas, many other holidays have been marked by special stamps;

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

has long issued New Year's Day stamps for postcards, and other nations have followed suit. Many nations also issue stamps for their independence day,

United Nations Day United Nations Day is an annual commemorative day, reflecting the official creation of the United Nations on 24 October 1945. In 1947, the United Nations General Assembly declared 24 October, the anniversary of the Charter of the United Nations, ...

, and other official national holidays, although these tend to have the character of commemoratives; the populace does not usually send special cards or letters to mark these days. Love stamps are designed around a

love Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment (psychology), attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most su ...

theme. In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, they were first issued in 1973. Generally timed to appear before

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

, they are also used on

wedding invitation A wedding invitation is a letter asking the recipient to attend a wedding. It is typically written in the formal, grammatical, third-person language and mailed five to eight weeks before the wedding date. Like any other invitation, it is the pr ...

s throughout the year. The

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

have issued various

greeting card A greeting card is a piece of card stock, usually with an illustration or photo, made of high quality paper featuring an expression of friendship or other sentiment. Although greeting cards are usually given on special occasions such as birthday ...

stamps with slogans replicating standard greeting card topics, such as "Happy Birthday!" and "Get Well!". These seem not to have been especially successful, and are not often seen on mail.

References

* Rick Miller, "Special stamps proliferate in stamp programs", ''

Linn's Stamp News ''Linn's Stamp News'' is an American weekly magazine for stamp collectors. It is published by Amos Media Co., which also publishes the Scott '' Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue'', the Scott ''Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Co ...

'' (Oct 24, 2005) Stamp collecting Philatelic terminology {{philately-stub

See also

References