To be surprised that the Royal Mail Christmas stamps are all religious?

[stampsurprise]

I thought for a change I'd get proper Christmas stamps this year. Didn't expect them to be all religious and no choice!

Is this usually what's on offer? I don't object personally, but I think most of those I send to won't care for a religious stamp.

Are they? I had a letter today and the stamp just had a robin on. Could be an old stamp though...

Presume you're in England? It's the Royal Mail, and the Queen is head of the Church of England. Makes sense some stamps would be Christian. And Christmas is Christian too...

You do know Christmas is a religious festival - don't you? The clue is in the name...

After a small Google, it seems RM do alternating secular and non-secular years. Except the last two have been non-secular. Which implies policy.

A return to the 1950s all around!

I thought they alternated - one year religious theme, the next year secular.

I think they alternate them, religious one year, non-religious the next.

They do alternate years so religious this year secular next year.

If I’m remembering correctly they bring out religious ones every other year and non religious on the in between years.

@ImNotMeImSomeoneElse

You do know Christmas is a religious festival - don't you? The clue is in the name...

And this is incredibly annoying. It's a made up date pasted onto a pagan festival, at a time of year when most traditions have lights, green boughs, food and presents. None of that is religious.

It's certainly made Christian by tradition though hasn't it? Before it was pagan, what was it? Would have been something.

Before it was pagan, what was it?

It was 'everyone is miserable, we're a bit worried the sun won't come back, I'm pissed off and hungry. Let's eat something nice, bring oil lamps/candles/fire into the hut and put some evergreens around so it's less depressing'' Day

I'm very aware of its pagan roots.

But they are Christmas stamps. Not Yuletide or Saturnalia stamps...

@ChessieFL

Are they? I had a letter today and the stamp just had a robin on. Could be an old stamp though...

Probably, I bought a load of Christmas ones a few years ago and still have some left. My Christmas cards are getting fewer so they could still last me a while.

@MrsTerryPratchett

Before it was pagan, what was it?

It was 'everyone is miserable, we're a bit worried the sun won't come back, I'm pissed off and hungry. Let's eat something nice, bring oil lamps/candles/fire into the hut and put some evergreens around so it's less depressing'' Day

Right, then it was pagan, then evolved into something Christian or whatever else, and will certainly evolve again.

It's religious like it or not. I'm an atheist and I can see this.

Christmas - religious festival celebrating birth of Jesus Christ. I've never paid much attention to stamps so I have no idea if they are religious every Christmas or not but I think it's appropriate if they are.

Is this usually what's on offer? I don't object personally, but I think most of those I send to won't care for a religious stamp

Yeah totally. If I receive a greetings card and the stamp doesn’t exactly reflect my personal moral, religious, political and ideological beliefs then I bin it straight away.

@ChessieFL

Are they? I had a letter today and the stamp just had a robin on. Could be an old stamp though...

How lovely! Would love a robin.

I went onto Royal Mail site and it was just Madonna and child.

@MrsTerryPratchett

After a small Google, it seems RM do alternating secular and non-secular years. Except the last two have been non-secular. Which implies policy.

A return to the 1950s all around!

That's interesting! Thank you.

If it's 'by tradition' then it's clearly secular. We spend more time shopping, decorating, eating, wrapping, hanging lights, drinking and giving presents than we do singing carols or going to church.

BTW I'm not saying people can't or shouldn't worship, that's great. The insistence that Christmas is Christian my practise or history is nonsense though. It was briefly (historically speaking) imposed, but wasn't before and I would argue isn't now, a majority religious festival in the UK.

@S00LA

Is this usually what's on offer? I don't object personally, but I think most of those I send to won't care for a religious stamp

Yeah totally. If I receive a greetings card and the stamp doesn’t exactly reflect my personal moral, religious, political and ideological beliefs then I bin it straight away.

I'd better just get plain ones then and make them 1st class all the way

I find it difficult to be annoyed by religious stamps being manufactured to mark a religious festival. If people choose to celebrate it in a secular way I have no problem with that either, but it is a Christian festival and therefore religious stamps are perfectly acceptable. no one has to buy or use them if they chose not to. The ordinary stamps are always also available.

It's literally called Christmas.

Really?

That's nice.

It's called Christmas. The stamps are not going to have images of Gods or symbols from other religions.

They are all religious because they are stained glass windows from churches, I've only ever been in two churches in England where the stained glass windows are not religious, I don't think that there are many though I'd like to hear of any as I make stained glass.

It's a Christian festival so it makes sense.