What Are Christmas Seals?:
Christmas Seals are cinderella stamps issued by the American Lung Association as a fundraising tool and to increase awareness of lung disease. The first seals were issued in Denmark in 1904, with the first U.S. Seals issued in 1907. The original impetus for the seals was to combat tuberculosis, but over time efforts expanded to combat more varieties of lung illnesses. There has been a wide variety of art over the years.
How to Get Christmas Seals:
Christmas Seal collecting is a popular aspect of stamp collecting and many stamp dealers and stamp stores will have Christmas Seals available for sale. To obtain releases straight from the American Lung Association, simply sign up to their mailing list.
Resources for Collecting Christmas Seals:
There are many resources for Christmas Seal collectors. The Christmas Seal and Charity Stamp Society is an excellent starting point. They have biennial meetings at stamp shows across the country, publish Seal News, a quarterly magazine, and Green's Catalog of Tuberculosis Seals of the World, a catalog with print and electronic versions. The Christmas Philatelic Club deals with all things Christmas and Philately, including Christmas Seals. Both organizations are affiliated with the American Philatelic Society and the CPC is an affiliate of the American Topical Association. Christmas Seal albums are also available.