Posted on: Tuesday, December 11, 2001

The Left Lane
'01 Christmas stamps

This year, the Postal Service's religious stamp (top) depicts Italian Renaissance painter Lorenzo Costa's oil-on-panel "Virgin and Child" (circa 1490). The nonreligious stamp (below) features four different Santas of European origin.

Each year at this time, the U.S. Postal Service issues two different sets of stamps for use on holiday mail. One is a special stamp of religious significance. The other is nonreligious.

This year, the Postal Service's religious stamp depicts Italian Renaissance painter Lorenzo Costa's oil-on-panel "Virgin and Child" (circa 1490). The original painting is at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The nonreligious stamp features four different Santas of European origin.