International work-related curiosity

[sally_maria]

Since this is the first year I've been closely involved in the long-standing British tradition of special Christmas stamps (this year's designs), I've been curious to know whether this is a unique thing.

Are there special Christmas stamps where you live? Do people send calendars (this seems to be a tradition among a significant number of British people, but not one I'd actually come across before I started working for a shop that sold them)?

Are there other traditions connected with posting for Christmas?

Comments

[naraht]

The US definitely has special Christmas stamps in several different designs. Calendars are always a decently popular Christmas gift but they're not something I would specially have associated with sending through the post.

[crazyscot]

NZ has Xmas stamps, but this year it also has Hobbit stamps. And coins. And passport stamps. And even a weather forecast.... http://tvnz.co.nz/hobbit-news/hangover-follows-world-premiere-5247744/video?vid=5243599

[tetsubinatu.livejournal.com]

Australia has special Christmas stamps each year - they're for Christmas cards and they're a smidgeon cheaper than regular letters.

[elandulin.livejournal.com]

We have Christmas stamps in the US--same price as the rest of the year. There are usually two designs, one religious and one more "seasonal" in nature. There is also a fairly booming business every year in theme calendars--movies, animals, world landscapes, that sort of thing. And thanks to your genius Jacquie Lawson card company there in England, I send 5-6 computer Advent Calendars to friends and family every year. What a great idea they are!

[muuranker.livejournal.com]

I think calendars-at-Christmas are just because
a) it's the time of year you need a new calendar, and
b) it is fairly easy/cheap to post, and
c) they are clearly related to the place they are sent from

So only a 'tradition' in the meaning that 'people do it year after year' rather than in the meaning that there is a current, or lost, symbolic content. I would love to be corrected on this - also on hankies, bath salts, garden centre vouchers and things in wicker baskets.

PS - Santa, yes, I would like some hankies and bath salts in a wicker basket, or a garden centre voucher to buy the same. I already have a calendar; from the Derbyshire Gypsy Liaison Group - http://www.acert.org.uk/2012/10/derbyshire-gypsy-liaison-group-silver-jubilee-calendar/ - it's wonderful.

[rustica.livejournal.com]

NZ has special issue stamps - however the big design at the moment is not at all Christmassy. Guess what it is? :)

NZ also has a huge thing for calendars, probably because so much of the country is clearly designed to be picture-postcard-and-calendar pretty. Also because about 22% of the population is foreign-born, so likely have friends and family overseas. It's normal to buy calendars over here complete with envelope designed for sending overseas, with weights and dimensions clearly printed on them. Quite to my surprise, I recently saw that you can buy calendars from other places over here -want one of Venice? or New York? No problem!

Something else I find strange over here on the subject (sort of) of calendars, but more particularly diaries: in the UK you can buy them for several varieties of 'year', ie the calendar year Jan-Dec, the fiscal year Apr-Mar and the university year, which I think ran Jul-Jun. In NZ, I've only seen the Jan-Dec version.

[morelindo.livejournal.com]

Yes, there are special Christmas stamps where I'm from (Germany).

People give each other calendars, my parents posted me one once when I was in Ireland. It's not generally a thing unless German customs around this have changed since I left five years ago.

Here, in England, people post calendars and there are special stamps. They also post silly numbers of Christmas cards so the Post Office always hires lots of temps to help them cope with mail over Christmas.

[didiusjulianus.livejournal.com]

I have sent calendars (mostly to a few overseas people, occasionally in this country but not nearby) to people in the past, and my grandma sent and received a few too, but not enough for it to be a tradition - more a useful, attractive & easy to post gift for someone. I have also given close relatives calendars sometimes with pop stars, cats or whatever on them. I helped my grandfather one year to send some of Scotland to his European friends - they exchanged them every year (so more of a tradition that one, not sure which side initiated it). Unless they are very pretty ones, from a specific place, I don't bother with paper calendars now so am giving even less of them as presents.