For years, customers had requested that the Post Office Department issue a Christmas-themed stamp.
On Nov. 1, 1962, their holiday wish was granted.
Designed by postal artist Jim Crawford, the 4-cent stamp featured a simple drawing of a wreath accompanied by two lighted tapers.
The design was not overtly religious, which may have been a response to the controversy of issuing a Christmas stamp.
Critics had argued that a religiously themed stamp muddied the line between church and state — after all, the Post Office Department was an arm of government. There were legal actions to prohibit the stamps, but they were unsuccessful.
The department ordered 500 million of the stamps — the most for any special issue at the time. They were such a hit, though, that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing had to pull out the stops to meet demand. By the end of 1962, nearly 862 million had sold.
The stamp was so successful that the Christmas theme became a mainstay of the stamp program. Today, two Christmas stamp styles are generally issued each year: one with a contemporary design and one with a traditional design.
In the 1990s, USPS expanded its stamp program to other religious holidays — such as Hanukkah, Eid al-Fitr, Kwanzaa and Diwali — and has regularly issued nondenominational seasonally themed stamps such as Winter Scenes, Birds in Winter and this year’s Winter Whimsy.