# 4785a - 2013 First-Class Forever Stamp - A Flag for All Seasons, SSP, block of 4 stamps

Issue Date: May 17, 2013

City: Rochester, NY
Quantity: 250,000,000
Printed By: Banknote Corporation of America for Sennett Security Products
Printing Method: Offset/ Microprint “USPS”
Perforations: Die Cut 11 ¼ X 10 ¾
Color: multicolored

The first time the United States experienced a World War holiday season was in 1917. With winter approaching, American men rushed to enlist in the “War to end all wars.” 

 

As Christmas neared, housewives flew flags and rationed meat and bread. Postmasters warned to mail soldiers’ packages early, and sold War Savings stamps. But few U.S. children felt the impact of war. Military toys, plus soldier and nurse uniforms, were at the top of many children’s lists for Santa that year.

 

While America’s youth eagerly awaited Christmas Eve, France was enduring some of the most intense fighting of the war. In New York City, kindergarten classes prepared Christmas stockings for French children. These gifts were distributed by the American Committee. The agency delivered approximately 500 stockings to 27 northern France villages that had been destroyed by bombing.

 

A committee member later recalled that a volunteer had been spotted by an older child as she hung stockings in a children’s shelter. The woman gestured for the boy to be quiet and continued working. On Christmas morning, the boy told the younger children about seeing Santa, wisely describing him as an “old, old man with a long white beard, and he was carrying an American flag.”