6035 – 2025 First-Class Forever Stamp – Evergreen Branch

US #6035
2025 Evergreen Branch

• For use on 2025 holiday mail
• Part of set of four Holiday Cheer stamps

Stamp Category: Special
Set:  Holiday Cheer
Value:  78¢, First Class mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue:  September 13, 2025
First Day City:  Washington, DC
Quantity Issued:  125,000,000
Printed by:  Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)
Printing Method:  Offset
Format:  Booklet of 20

Why the stamp was issued:  The Holiday Cheer stamps were issued for use on mail sent during the 2025 holiday season.

About the stamp design:  Each of the four designs picture a collage created by Denise Fiedler.  She painted on paper from a vintage gardening book, then cut the paper into shapes.  These, she pasted on an archival cotton board to create the stamps images.  They include a holly wreath, amaryllis flowers, an evergreen branch with fruit, and cardinals on a mistletoe branch.

First Day City:  The First Day of Issue ceremony took place at the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum in Washington, DC

About the Contemporary Christmas series:  The US issued its first Christmas stamp (picturing a wreath and candles) on November 1, 1962, and it was wildly popular.  The Post Office printed 350 million stamps, the largest print run for a special stamp up to that time, but still the stamps quickly sold out.  The Bureau of Engraving and Printing produced more to satisfy demand and the total number issued was over 860 million by the end of the year.
In 1966, the Post Office started issuing traditional themed Christmas stamps picturing Madonna and Child and other religious icons.  In 1969, they switched back to non-religious Christmas designs with a stamp picturing the painting Winter Sunday in Norway, Maine. 
Finally, in 1970, the Post Office decided to permanently split Christmas stamps into two categories to satisfy everyone: Traditional and Contemporary.  They issued a block of four stamps picturing Christmas toys along with a stamp picturing a classic painting of the Nativity.  The decision to do both proved popular, and the Post Office has continued to issue stamps in both categories ever since.

History the stamp represents: 
There are fruits that are available year-round but are at their best in the winter.  Pomegranates appear in stores around Thanksgiving and seem to disappear at the end of January.  Unlike many fruits, only the seeds are edible.  They are also squeezed to make tart juice.

Bartlett Pears are officially known as Williams’ bon Chrétien pears.  Cultivated in England, they were brought to the US in 1799.  The Massachusetts estate the first trees were planted on was bought by Enoch Bartlett, who later named the fruit after himself.  The pears are harvested in early fall, making them a treat during the early winter months.