Where Are The Nativity Dragons?
You might be interested in this message from The Venerable Trevor Jones, Archdeacon of Hertford:
Royal Mail has traditionally alternated between sacred and secular designs for their Christmas stamps and this year it is the turn for a religious image. Royal Mail has issued two sets of designs this year. The main set of designs, available in all the main denominations is of angels, which is vaguely Christian but not explicitly so and certainly not specifically Christmassy. They have also issued a 'Madonna and Child' design for first and second class only. Post Office staff have been instructed only to sell this design if people specifically request it, but obviously people can't request it if they don't know it exists! If people don't buy these stamps, Royal Mail will claim there is no demand for religious Christmas stamps and not produce them in future. Please therefore ask for 'Madonna and Child' stamps when you do your Christmas posting and also tell your friends, contacts etc. to do the same. Thank You.Sure enough, I asked my wife, who bought our supply of stamps about a week ago, and she knew nothing about the mother and child option, so came home with lots of angels.
My suggestion for next year, given the fascination with Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, would be for various pictures of the ten-horned, seven-headed red dragon described in John's account of Jesus' birth in Revelation 12. After all, why is it we only ever hear Matthew and Luke's accounts? Shouldn't at least a few nativity scenes include John's red dragon lurking ominously, ready to devour the infant Saviour King?
4 comments:
Rather than join the long queues at Post Offices I have been purchasing books of 10 stamps from retailers, many of whom are selling 'Christmas' stamps. They are the Angelic type.
I, along with others, did not know that 'the Madonna and Child' (version) existed. :-)
The usual marketing methods have been used to gain the result wanted. "You can prove anything with statistics; it is just the way you present them."
I just went to buy some Madonna and Child stamps and they didn't have either design - so the religious ones must have been just as popular as the angels or else they didn't bother stocking as many of them.
I was lukier than Rebecca and managed to buy 25 Madonna and Child stamps at the village Post Office, but he had to retrieve them from a package at the back of the Post Office, they were not readily available.
Apart from wondering exactly what is un-Christian or un-Christmassy about angels proclaiming "GLORY to God in the highest, and on earth PEACE, GOOD WILL toward men" [Luke 2:14 KJV] to say nothing of "JOY to the World" which "is one of the best-known and best-loved of Christmas carols" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joy_to_the_World
has anyone gone to the bother of pointing out the position and orientation of the Queen's Profile on the 2nd Class "Madonna & Child" Stamp?
Rather unusual (unique perhaps) to this stamp. The Queen's profile is on the left facing right. This is not due to the available space -- it could easily be on the right, facing left as is usual. Except that would entail the Queen looking at the back of Mary's head as opposed to its current unusual position which is facing the Christ Child -- as is fitting for He who is King of Kings perhaps?
Isn't it odd -- the Royal Mail is subtlely spreading the message of Christ at Christmas and many in the Church are busy spreading a bunker mentality more akin to the Daily Mail (sorry ;-> ). Perhaps the "Royal" in Royal Mail is more of David's Line than Elizabeth's.
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