6038 – 2025 First-Class Forever Stamp – House and Snow-Covered Trees at Twilight

US #6038
2025 House with Snow-Covered Trees at Twilight

• Part of set featuring five different designs
• Issued for use on 2025 holiday and winter mail

Stamp Category:  Special
Set:  Winter Landscapes
Value:  78¢, First Clas Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue:  September 19, 2025
First Day City:  Danville, Indiana
Quantity Issued :  48,000,000
Printed by:  Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method:  Offset
Format:  Double-sided Booklet of 20

Why the stamp was issued:  The Winter Landscapes stamps honor the beauty of a snowy scene.

About the stamp design:  USPS art director Ethel Kessler used existing photographs of winter landscapes to create the five stamp designs.

First Day City:  The First Day of Issue ceremony was held during the INDYPEX Stamp Show.

About the Winter Landscapes Set:  After every snowstorm, when the winds calm and the skies clear, we’re treated to a magical glimmering white scene.  Hills and rooftops sparkle under the sun, forests grow quiet beneath heavy branches of white, and even the most ordinary streets appear transformed.  Yet, many of the most breathtaking winter landscapes in American memory followed some of the harshest storms. The contrast between nature’s fury and the peace that follows gives these moments their lasting power.
The 1936 North American cold wave froze rivers and even parts of Chesapeake Bay, with wind chills dropping to –85°F.  Life ground to a halt.  When the storm finally passed, whole towns glittered under snow and ice, shining despite the hardship.  Decades earlier, the “Year Without a Summer,” in 1816, had brought frost and even June snow to New England.  Crops failed, yet the strange sight of green fields frosted white created unforgettable scenery.
The 1886 blizzard buried Kansas farms, but afterward the vast prairie stretched smooth and silver in the sunlight.  Commerce ground to a halt as rivers and harbors turned solid in The Great Freeze of 1857, yet ice bridges gleamed.  The Great Appalachian Storm of 1950 left devastation, but also mountains glistening beneath towering drifts.
The 2025 winter landscape stamps capture that spirit, showing how snow can soften even any storm into moments of still beauty.

History the stamp represents:  The winter of 1936 stands as the coldest meteorological winter on record in the United States, stretching from December 1935 through February 1936.  Temperatures dropped to shocking lows, with North Dakota recording –60°F in February.  Fierce winds in some areas made conditions even more deadly, with wind chills plunging below –85°F. 
Snowstorms buried the Great Plains and Midwest, paralyzing transportation and cutting off food and fuel deliveries.  The sea froze as far south as Chesapeake Bay, an event almost unheard of in modern times.  Families huddled close to stoves, while communities came together to dig each other out and share supplies.
Yet the troubles did not end when spring finally arrived.  After weeks of relentless cold, the sudden thaw released massive amounts of snowmelt.  Rivers swelled far beyond their banks, creating record floods across large parts of the nation.  Cities and farms already battered by the Depression faced yet another disaster as waters swept away homes, bridges, and fields.  The year 1936 would only grow harsher, with extreme summer heat following the punishing winter.
Together, the cold, floods, and drought tested the endurance of millions.  The 1936 cold wave remains one of the most remarkable examples of America’s battle against nature’s extremes.