Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa celebrated with holiday stamps

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Holiday postage stamps celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa will be issued next month, the U.S. Postal Service announced Monday. <br/><br/>Christmas stamps will include a Madonna

Monday, September 27th 2004, 2:53 pm

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Holiday postage stamps celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa will be issued next month, the U.S. Postal Service announced Monday.

Christmas stamps will include a Madonna and Child and a stamp with Christmas ornaments, while the Hanukkah stamp will feature a dreidel and the Kwanzaa stamp will feature seven characters in colorful robes.

The traditional Christmas stamp features a 1413 tempera painting by Italian artist Lorenzo Monaco. The first day of issue will be Oct. 14 with ceremonies at a postage stamp show in New York.

On Oct. 15, first day of issue ceremonies will be held for the Hanukkah stamp, also in New York. It features a dreidel, a four-sided top with a Hebrew letter on each side, which children use in games during the holiday.

The Kwanzaa stamp will be issued Oct. 16 in Chicago. The design uses seven figures to illustrate the seven principles of Kwanzaa, the African-American holiday.

The modern Christmas stamps will be issued Nov. 16. Ceremonies will be on New York and the stamps will show hand-painted holiday ornaments from Germany.