Czech 2006 Christmas Stamps

Catalogue number: 0493 Date of publication: 11.10.2006 Face-value: 7.5 Kč Print sheets: 9 stamps + 12 coupons Imprint dimension: 23 x 30 mm Art design: Libuše and Jaromír Knotek Engraving: Libuše and Jaromír Knotek

Method of printing: multicoloured offset, Victoria Security Printing, a.s. Imprint theme: a view of a snow-covered landscape from a christmas decorated window, the printed sheet has 9 stamps and 12 coupons. The coupons designed for the day of issue will bear an open envelope with a small gift in Christmas arrangement; the empty coupons in the other printed sheets will be additionally printed according to the client’s order.

Catalogue number: 0497 Date of publication: 08.11.2006 Face-value: 7.5 Kč Print sheets: 50 stamps Imprint dimension: 40 x 23 mm Art design: Jan Ungrád Engraving: Bohumil Šneider

Method of printing: rotary recess print in black combined with photogravure in ochre, orange, red and green Imprint theme: The Christmas crib was a symbol of Christmas earlier than the Christmas tree. The tradition of Christmas cribs was founded in 1223 by Saint Francis of Assisi in Umbria. The first Christmas crib in Bohemia was displayed in Prague in 1560. In the late 18th century they spread from churches and monasteries to households. Home production and building of Christmas cribs was typical especially for mountainous and sub-mountainous regions. They were made of various materials - wood, clay, paper, glass, gingerbread, dough. There are small cribs with the main figures of the baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the Three Magi and the donkey and cow, but also those with hundreds of figures. The most precious one in the Czech Republic, Probošek's Christmas crib in Třebechovice, is a moving one, more than 100 years old and listed on the list of national cultural heritage. It is a unique work both in the terms of art and technique.