Australia:Christmas 2021

On 1 November 2021, Australia Post issued its annual Christmas stamp issue celebrating the Christmas holiday, highlighting both traditional and secular themes.

Issue Description
The three Secular stamps reference the custom of celebrating Christmas with sugary gingerbread delicacies. Gingerbread is a sweet baked cake or biscuit flavoured with ginger and other spices. It has a very long history, with various recipes recorded in Europe for more than a millennium.

The two Religious Christmas stamps feature artworks made from terracotta clay and glazed in a technique first introduced in Renaissance Italy by the Florentine della Robbia family of artists. The popularity of glazed terracotta began to wane in the later 17th century, and it was not until the gothic revival of the 19th century that the style again became fashionable, when English and Italian firms mass-produced della Robbia styles for a popular market.

Stamps
Gingerbread Tree (AU$ 0.65)

Like several other Christmas traditions, such as the Christmas tree, the custom of making decorated gingerbread houses originated in Germany, in the early 19th century. This was possibly a result of the popular success of the Grimm fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel", where two lost children were enticed into a house made of gingerbread and topped with sweets. Gingerbread Gift (AU$ 0.65)

Gingerbread was particularly popular in France, the Netherlands, Britain, Sweden and Germany, where in the 15th century a guild controlled its production. In the 16th century, the retinue of Queen Elizabeth I of England included a royal gingerbread maker. The Queen would hold banquets, where the easily moulded gingerbread was playfully formed into figures representing people at her court. During the Elizabethan era, gingerbread men were also sometimes presented as love tokens. This stamp features gingerbread baked in the shape of a Christmas gift. Gingerbread Star (AU$ 2.40)

The association between gingerbread and Christmas is not clear. Possibly the custom arose because of the belief that spices were warming in the cold northern winter, but probably also because a gingerbread house elaborately decorated with sweets and sugary delicacies is an indulgent extravagance permitted only once a year. This stamp design showcases a star shape, the star being a popular choice to top the Christmas tree.

Madonna and Child Rectangular Plaque (AU$ 0.65)

This stamp design shows the Madonna tenderly cradling the infant Jesus in her arms, with the Latin posuerunt me custodem (they have appointed me as guardian) inscribed below. This plaque was made in the Italian Umbrian town of Deruta in the 17th century. The plaque measures 52 x and is in the Australian Catholic University Art Collection. Madonna and Child Tondo (AU$ 2.40)

The round plaque or tondo represented on this stamp was made in the late 19th century by Florence manufacturers Figli de Giuseppe Cantagalli. It shows a crowned Madonna as Queen of Heaven, clasping the standing Christ Child, with four cherubim in the background, encircled by a festoon of decorative leaves, fruit, pinecones and flowers. This relief, which is 38 cm in diameter, is in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria.

Minisheet
The Christmas 2021 Minisheet consists of the two religious stamps from the issue incorporated into a miniature stamp sheet.

First Day Covers
The first First Day Cover is a pictorial envelope with the five gummed stamps from the Christmas 2021 stamp issue affixed and postmarked - First day of issue | 1 November 2021 | Merrylands NSW 2160

Envelope size: 190mm x 110mm.

The second First Day Cover is a pictorial envelope with the Minisheet from the Christmas 2021 stamp issue affixed and postmarked - First day of issue | 1 November 2021 | Merrylands NSW 2160

Envelope size: 190mm x 110mm.

Maxi Cards
Each Maxicard features a stamp from the Christmas 2021 stamp issue.

A Maxicard is a prepaid postcard with a stamp affixed and postmarked on the view side. The subject matter of a Maxicard is common to the card, stamp and postmark.

Embellished Sheetlet Pack
The Christmas 2021 Embellished Sheetlet Pack contains two embellished self-adhesive sheetlets.

The first Sheetlet features the 10 x AU$ 0.65 Gingerbread Gift stamps and the other Sheetlet features 10 x AU$ 0.65 Gingerbread Tree stamps.

Each Sheetlet also includes 10 x "Card Only" stickers.

Booklets of Five
This Sheetlet contains 5 x AU$2.40 Self-Adhesive secular international stamps from the Christmas 2021 stamp issue in a convenient wallet sized booklet.

This Sheetlet contains 5 x AU$ 2.40 Self-Adhesive religious international stamps from the Christmas 2021 stamp issue in a convenient wallet sized booklet.

Booklets of 20
This Booklet contains 20 x AU$ 0.65 Self-Adhesive secular stamps from the Christmas 2021 stamp issue in a convenient wallet sized booklet.

Also includes 20 x "Card Only" stickers.

This booklet contains 20 x AU$ 0.65 Self-Adhesive religious stamps from the Christmas 2021 stamp issue in a convenient wallet sized booklet. .

Also includes 20 x "Card Only" stickers.

References & Notes
References

Notes