Holidays Forever

The U.S. Postal Service starts delivering the 2010 holiday season today by issuing four, new Forever stamps and a single stamp featuring a musical angel at the American Stamp Dealers Association Mega Stamp Show in New York City.

"With these wonderful new stamps in hand, you will be ready for the upcoming holidays - and we'll be ready to deliver your messages of peace and joy across America," said Maura Robinson, Postal Service vice president, Pricing.

Holiday Evergreens Forever

Decorating with evergreens during the winter holiday season is a popular and appealing tradition. These beautiful new stamps feature close-up views of the foliage and cones of four different conifers: ponderosa pine, eastern red cedar, blue spruce and balsam fir.

The artist, the late Ned Seidler, was a gifted painter of nature subjects. When painting flora, he frequently used cuttings from plants and trees in his own yard as reference.

Angel with Lute

For the holiday season, angels represent peace on earth. This stamp features an angel playing a lute, an image from a fresco painted around the year 1480 by Italian Renaissance artist, Melozzo da Forli, for the apse of the Church of the Holy Apostles in Rome. It radiates serenity and dignity, along with compassion, while the lute points to harmony and song.

Also, available now at Post Offices are 44-cent Madonna and Child, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Eid stamps this holiday season.