Virgin and Child Forever Stamps

Value: 78¢ First-Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue: September 22, 2022
First Day City: Boston, Massachusetts
Printed by: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd.
Printing Method: Offset, Microprint
Format: Booklets of 20

Honoring Traditional Christmas Imagery

In 2022, the United States issued a Forever stamp celebrating traditional Christmas figures, featuring a 16th-century oil painting by the Florentine artist known as the Master of the Scandicci Lamentation. The First Day of Issue ceremony was held at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, which houses the original painting.

The USPS first introduced Christmas stamps in 1966 with the Madonna and Child, followed by an Angel Gabriel issue in 1968. By 1970, both Traditional and Contemporary Christmas stamps were produced annually, allowing collectors and mailers to choose between sacred and secular holiday themes.

The 2022 design depicts the Virgin and Child in accordance with Renaissance artistic conventions. Mary is shown in a red dress and blue mantle — colors traditionally symbolizing her purity, royalty, and sacred role.

The original painting passed through the hands of several prominent collectors before ultimately becoming part of the Museum of Fine Arts’ permanent collection in Boston. This stamp not only reflects centuries of religious artistry but also continues a beloved American postal tradition of celebrating the Christmas season through meaningful, historic imagery.