The "War on Christmas" continues through postage stamps, if claims sent to us by our Snopes readers are to be believed.
We recently received a claim that the U.S. Postal Service is not issuing new Christmas stamps in 2021, ahead of the holidays, but that they do have stamps for Eid, Diwali, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa.
This is not the case.
In October 2021, the Postal Service issued "A Visit From St. Nick" stamps ahead of Christmas. There are presently nine stamps for holidays available online, and the Diwali, Eid, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah stamps were all issued before 2021.
A September 2021 announcement detailed the features of the St. Nick stamp:
St. Nick — Santa Claus — is one of our most recognized and beloved cultural icons, his jolly laugh and smiling eyes a happy reminder that Christmas is near.
European immigrants brought to their new country folk characters that over the years became our present-day Santa Claus.
A Visit from St. Nick stamps feature four festive, vividly colored designs that evoke the story of Santa’s visit on Christmas Eve.
In the first stamp, Santa stands on a snowy rooftop against a star-filled, pink-hued sky, his sack slung across his back and one leg inside the red-brick chimney.
The next stamp shows Santa as he descends through the chimney, his legs dangling over the hearth, clad in black boots and his trademark fur-trimmed suit. A log sits in the grate of the red-brick fireplace, while three green stockings, with white toes and heels, hang on the mantel.
The third stamp is a close-up of a winking Santa set against a green background.
The fourth shows Santa in his sleigh, with four reindeer visible, as they fly across the face of the full moon in a dark, starlit sky.
In October 2020, the Postal Service issued a more religious-themed stamp featuring a detail of 18th century “Our Lady of Guápolo” painting.
This is not the first time we have received questions about the Postal Service and its relationship with the so-called War on Christmas.
In 2015, we covered a claim that the U.S. would stop selling religious-themed Christmas stamps in 2016, and determined that it was false. Another false claim we covered in 2013 said that then-President Barack Obama had ordered the issuance of a Christmas postage stamp commemorating two Islamic holidays.
Given that there is indeed a new Christmas stamp in 2021, depicting St. Nick or Santa Claus, and older stamps for other holidays are still available, we rate this claim as “False.”
Related:
A History of the 'War on Christmas'