New Canadian Christmas stamp depicts Holy Family 

Canada Post has released a new Christmas stamp that places the Nativity scene at the center of its annual holiday collection.

The image depicts Mary holding the infant Jesus with Joseph beside her. A donkey and sheep stand nearby. The setting includes the star of Bethlehem and the Magi approaching in the distance. 

Canada Post, the country’s postal service, said the artwork offers “a simple and nostalgic take on the Nativity scene,” and that the colors and shading highlight “Mary and Joseph with baby Jesus and the angel announcing Jesus’s birth.” 

Artist Bex Morley created the illustration. It will be sold in booklets of 12 domestic stamps. 

The postal service has issued religious Christmas stamps many times. However, it often does so alongside secular releases. 

In recent years, Canada Post has promoted themes unrelated to the birth of Christ, including stamps celebrating “2SLGBTQIA+” history. The contrast is notable in a country in which public institutions increasingly distance themselves from Christian traditions even as they rely on them for seasonal imagery. 

Last year, Canada Post released a Christmas stamp showing the Holy Family under a guiding star, continuing its long tradition of offering at least one religious image each season. But it was paired with a separate set of secular gingerbread-themed designs, including a birdhouse, a doghouse and a barn for Santa’s reindeer. 

The Nativity artwork was created by Underline Studio with illustrator Amanda Arlotta, while the gingerbread set was designed by Katina Constantinou with photography by Stacey Brandford.  

Canada Post said the 2024 releases were meant to capture the joy and warmth of the Christmas season through both Christian imagery and lighter festive scenes. 

The country’s national leaders also have been reluctant to speak directly about the meaning of Christmas. Some members of Parliament have explained the holiday’s significance, but Liberal MPs have not commented despite the country’s Christian heritage. 

This hesitation follows anti-Christian statements from the Canadian Human Rights Commission. In 2023, the commission published a paper arguing Christmas and Easter celebrations could be considered discriminatory. 

The paper, which described Canada’s past as “deeply rooted in our identity as a settler colonial state,” drew national pushback and led to questions in Parliament. In response, then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Christmas is “not racist.” 

Public concern also grew when a 2021 directive ordered references to Christmas be removed from all federal court calendars. It was an internal decision leaving many Canadians wondering why one of the country’s oldest traditions needed to be erased. Indeed, Canada has observed Christmas since 1641.