The first postage stamp to commemorate Christmas was issued in Austria in 1937.
Was Austria's 1937 Stamp Really the First Christmas Stamp?
The claim that Austria issued the first Christmas postage stamp in 1937 sounds official enough to be true—and technically, Austria did release stamps in December 1937 used on Christmas mail. But here's the twist: they weren't actually the first, and they might not have even been true Christmas stamps.
Canada Got There First (By Accident)
The world's first Christmas postage stamp was issued by Canada on December 7, 1898—a full 39 years before Austria's effort. The stamp featured a world map in Mercator's Projection with British Empire territories highlighted in red, emblazoned with "XMAS 1898" and the bold declaration: "WE HOLD A VASTER EMPIRE THAN HAS BEEN."
The best part? It was created by accident. Canadian Postmaster William Mulock originally designed it to commemorate Imperial Penny Postage (lowering rates from 3¢ to 2¢). When Queen Victoria questioned the imperial boasting, Mulock improvised brilliantly, claiming it honored "the prince of peace"—Jesus Christ. Victoria approved, and postal history was made.
So What About Austria's 1937 Stamps?
On December 12, 1937, Austria released two stamps featuring a rose and zodiac signs. They were used on Christmas cards and New Year greetings, and Stanley Gibbons catalogues listed them as "Christmas Greeting Stamps." Case closed? Not quite.
Official Austrian Post first-day covers stated these stamps were released for "birthday congratulatory letters." Their timing in December made them convenient for holiday mail, but their primary purpose appears to have been general celebratory correspondence, not specifically Christmas.
What Makes a "Christmas Stamp" Anyway?
This controversy reveals a deeper question: what qualifies as a Christmas stamp? Philatelists debate three criteria:
- Christmas imagery: Nativity scenes, religious symbols, or holiday motifs (Austria's rose/zodiac doesn't qualify)
- Explicit intent: Officially designated for Christmas use (Austria's official purpose is murky)
- Seasonal association: Issued near Christmas and used for holiday mail (both stamps fit this)
By strict standards, Hungary's 1943 stamps depicting the Nativity were the first to show explicitly Christian Christmas imagery. But Canada's 1898 stamp—despite its imperial overtones—remains the first to reference Christmas by name.
Austria's 1937 stamps occupy an awkward middle ground: festive in timing, ambiguous in purpose, and definitively not the first. They're a footnote in postal history, not the headline.