Christmas FeaturesChristmas News

Charlie Brown and Friends Get Christmas Stamp Series for 2015

CharlieBrownStampsThe US Postal Service always provides something new each holiday season in the images it puts on seasonal stamps. This year the honor goes to Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang as they celebrate 50 years since the television debut of A Charlie Brown Christmas. The set of 10 stamps will be released on October 1st.

The TV special has become a cornerstone of animated Christmas shows that exploded on the small screen beginning in the 1960s, joining the ranks of TV staples such as “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” and “The Year Without a Santa Claus.” Rudolph and his pals were immortalized with stamp issues in 2014 to mark their golden anniversary.

What is quite striking about this release is that most of the scenes depicted in the stamps are readily identifiable, half of which center around the small and somewhat lackluster tree that came to be the lightning rod of the storyline. For the benefit of those unfamiliar with the tale, Charlie picked up this sparse tree as an accoutrement/prop of sorts for his school play. The tree’s modesty represented Charlie’s railing against the commercialization of Christmas—ironic, in that the USPS has been criticized in recent years for choosing more commercial subjects for its stamp releases.

In the end, Charlie Brown was really trying to get in touch with the real meaning of Christmas. The episode culminated with Linus reciting Luke 2:8-14 from the Bible (King James version), an emotional scene that would stir controversy if done today. That is a reminder of the disconnect between the commercialized holiday and its true raison d’être…apparently as relevant 50 years ago as it is today.

Father of 7, Grandfather of 7, husband of 1. Freelance writer, Major League baseball geek, aspiring Family Historian.
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    Cathy Blake
  • August 24, 2015
I live in the U.K., is it possible to purchase these stamps ?
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    I would think you could order them thru the USPS web site Cathy. But release date is not until 10/1/15.
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      Shane
    • August 24, 2015
    I have bought stamps from your postal service so I am sure you can buy stamps from the Us Postal Service. And if you use a charge card, they should also make any adjustments due to any currency fluctuations.
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      Melissa Jossa
    • August 25, 2015
    Yes you can order them on the USPS web site and pay with a credit card
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      Carol
    • August 26, 2015
    You can probably go to the USPS.com web site and order them.
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    Babs
  • August 24, 2015
I'm making a reminder on my phone to buy these on 10/1...these will be perfect with my Linus cards for Christmas...perfect.
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I have been all over the website ...and have not been able to locate these at all..and the Post Office I went to can not confirm these stamps..
    The USPS does not usually release their new stamp announcements until about 3 weeks before they become available. They have over recent years featured Rudolph and other Rankin Bass characters around the October 1st time frame. This news as we received comes from the printing industry that are actually producing the stamps and have released the office artwork, which you see pictured.
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    Jay R
  • August 25, 2015
What is disappointing that of all the images used, the USPS dodged Linus on stage ("Lights, please?") to share the true meaning of Christmas. That part of the Christmas special is so important to the overall piece.
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    Zolwena
  • August 25, 2015
I know I cannot wait til these are released I hope they do not sell out!
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    Dennis boger
  • August 26, 2015
How do I preordained first day covers of the set of 10
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    b.m.stab
  • October 2, 2015
Thank you, Jay. Linus & Luke was the whole point. Maybe that will be a stamp by itself.
?? And replace the Madonna and Child? I can still hope.
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