Add nostalgic flair to your holiday letters with these vintage Contemporary Christmas "Poinsettia Plants" Season's Greetings postage stamps! This nostalgic holiday design is perfect for adding a touch of class to your holiday cards and letters or winter save-the-dates and weddings. In pristine mint condition and valid for current postage use, each stamp holds a face value of 22-cents. These USPS postage stamps are suitable for current mailing when used with the total required postage based on the weight of your correspondence. Embrace the charm of winter with this enchanting postage stamp!

Purchase includes a total of TEN (10) mint condition 22-cent "Poinsettia Plants" vintage postage stamps shown in the product listing photos.

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STAMP INFORMATION:

• Name: Poinsettia Plants
• Series: Contemporary Christmas
• Year Issued: 1985
• Face Value: 22-cents (USD) per stamp
• Topic(s): Christmas Flora, Holiday Plants, Season's Greetings, Flores de Noche Buena
• Color(s): Red, Green
• Printing Method: Photogravure
• Scott Number: 2166
• Adhesion Type: Gummed (see adhesion instructions below)
• Condition: Genuine Unused USPS Postage Stamps, Ready to Use for USPS Mailings, Mint Condition

GENUINE USPS POSTAGE: These unused vintage postage stamps are perfectly valid for use as current postage for mailing with USPS as long as you use an adequate amount of additional postage to achieve standard postage rates according to the weight of your mailing. Check current postage rates on the USPS website.

STAMP HISTORY: The 1985 22-cent “Poinsettia Plants” postage stamp was issued by the U.S. Postal Service on October 25, 1985, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as part of that year’s Contemporary Christmas series. It celebrated one of the most recognizable symbols of the holiday season—the bright red poinsettia, a plant that had long since become synonymous with Christmas in the United States. This stamp was designed and illustrated by American artist Mary Ellen Sabol, who created an original painting of a cluster of vivid red poinsettia blossoms with deep green leaves and delicate yellow centers. The composition is both festive and refined, with a focus on color and natural form rather than background detail. Its clean layout, white border, and elegant typography reflected the Postal Service’s contemporary design approach of the 1980s: modern, cheerful, and accessible, while avoiding overt religious imagery.

The poinsettia’s appearance on a U.S. postage stamp also carried historical resonance. The plant—native to Mexico—was introduced to the United States by Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first U.S. ambassador to Mexico, in the 1820s. Its association with Christmas dates back to Mexican legend, in which a poor child, having no gift to offer at the Nativity, gathered humble green weeds that miraculously turned into brilliant red blooms—Flores de Noche Buena, or “Flowers of the Holy Night.” Over time, this story helped make the poinsettia a universal symbol of purity, love, and the spirit of giving during the Christmas season.

The 1985 "Poinsettia Plants" stamp thus connected American holiday tradition with its Mexican cultural roots, celebrating both the beauty of nature and the season’s spirit of generosity. Its luminous reds and greens, rendered with warmth and simplicity, made it one of the most widely used and admired Christmas stamps of the decade. Today, snail mailers and collectors appreciate it not only for its elegant design but also for how it honors the poinsettia’s enduring role as a living emblem of Christmas joy and cross-cultural heritage.

STAMP MEANING & SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE: Spiritually, the “Poinsettia Plants” stamp embodies the quiet miracle of transformation, humility, and the universal language of beauty as an expression of devotion. Though issued as a secular Christmas stamp, its subject—the radiant red poinsettia—carries deep spiritual symbolism rooted in both Mexican legend and the broader Christian understanding of the season.

According to tradition, a poor Mexican child, unable to afford a gift for the Christ Child, gathered a handful of plain green weeds and laid them at the altar on Christmas Eve. Moved by the child’s sincerity, the legend has it that God transformed the humble offering into brilliant red blossoms—the first Flores de Noche Buena, or “Flowers of the Holy Night.” This story conveys a profound spiritual truth: that the simplest, most heartfelt gifts are those most pleasing to the divine. It speaks to the sacred value of humility, generosity, and the purity of intention—reminding us that love and faith transform the ordinary into the miraculous.

The poinsettia’s red bracts, often mistaken for petals, symbolize the love and sacrifice of Christ, while their star-shaped form echoes the Star of Bethlehem, guiding believers toward light and hope. The green leaves beneath represent life, renewal, and the enduring presence of creation even in winter’s stillness. Together, these elements make the poinsettia a living emblem of Christmas faith—a bridge between the earthly and the divine.

In this way, the Poinsettia Plants stamp captures more than seasonal beauty; it represents the spiritual flowering of the heart. By featuring this plant on a U.S. stamp, the Postal Service honored not only a cherished holiday symbol but also a story of transformation through love—a reminder that true grace often blooms from acts of humble kindness.

GUMMED STAMPS: These postage stamps have a traditional moisture-activated gum on the back. These stamps require licking or wetting to adhere to envelopes or other surfaces. To ensure good adhesion, apply vintage gummed stamps to your mailings with a glue stick (we recommend using Elmer's "Re-Stick" glue sticks).

PROCESSING & SHIPPING: Orders are typically processed and shipped within 1-3 business days of placing your order. All orders are shipped from California — please allow additional time for transit.

QUESTIONS? We love hearing from our customers and replies to inquires are usually answered the same day. Need more of this stamp? Looking for a particular stamp not found on our website? Want a curated postage set for your special event? Contact us with questions about vintage postage stamps and our services…

VISIT MY MINTED STORE: https://www.minted.com/store/heritageposthouse

TELL YOUR STORY IN STAMPS: We’ve worked with hundreds of couples and their stationers to custom design highly stylized personalized postage sets based on our customer’s life stories. We can help you curate personalized vintage postage sets to commemorate your save-the-date, wedding, shower, announcement, and other special occasions in a truly unique fashion. Drawing on our encyclopedic knowledge of every stamp ever issued by the USPS, and sourcing from our extensive inventory of collectable unused vintage stamps, we’ll help you tell your unique story in stamps!

ABOUT HERITAGE POST HOUSE: Jennifer Kramer is the founder of Heritage Post House, a boutique vintage postage house located in Northern California. Jennifer sources the most beautiful unused vintage postage stamps ever issued by USPS and artfully arranges them into curated postage sets that are sure to add a special touch to your invitations, announcements, and special mailings. In addition to creating pre-arranged postage sets, Jennifer also works with couples (and their stationers) to create one-of-a-kind custom postage arrangements for wedding invitations, save the dates, and other special occasions.


Product Specifications

Length: 1.57 in.
Height: 0.01 in.
Width: 0.98 in.
Weight: 0.01 lbs.