Announced by the USPS on June 29th:
This year’s traditional Christmas stamp features “The Virgin and Child Enthroned,” a Netherlandish painting that dates from around the year 1500 and has been attributed to an artist known only as “The Master of the Embroidered Foliage.” Scholars believe this distinctive painting, with its large central figure of Mary in red garments and an array of background details, was created in a workshop by several artists and assistants, as was common practice at the time. The painting is in the collection of the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, MA. The stamp was designed by Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS.
The stamp will be issued October 2 in Williamstown, MA.
The latest information will appear below the line, with the most recent at the top.
Updated August 27th:
From the Postal Bulletin:
On October 2, 2026, in Williamstown, MA, the United States Postal Service® will issue the Christmas Madonna and Child stamp (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate), in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) double-sided booklet of 20 stamps (Item 686200). This stamp will go on sale nationwide October 2, 2026, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue.
To be sold in booklets of 20, this Christmas stamp features The Virgin and Child Enthroned, a Netherlandish painting that dates from around the year 1500 and was originally attributed to an unnamed artist known only as “The Master of the Embroidered Foliage.” Scholars now believe that the painting was created in a workshop by several artists and assistants, as was common practice at the time. The painting is in the collection of the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Greg Breeding served as designer and art director.
Automatic distribution.
How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
The first-day-of-issue postmark is a postmark notating the day a stamp is first authorized for use by the Postal Service™. Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. All requests for first-day-of-issue postmarks (Traditional or Digital Color Postmark) must be sent to the following address with the choice of Traditional or Digital Color Postmark identified. All orders must be postmarked by February 2, 2027.
FDOI – Christmas Madonna and Child Stamp
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900
Technical Specifications:
Issue: Christmas Madonna and Child Stamp
Item Number: 686200
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Double-sided Booklet of 20 (1 design)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: October 2, 2026, Williamstown, MA 01267
Art Director: Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
Designer: Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
Existing Art: The Master of the Embroidered Foliage
Modeler: Sandra Lane / Michelle Finn
Manufacturing Process: Offset
Printer: Banknote Corporation of America
Press Type: Alprinta 74
Stamps per Booklet: 20
Print Quantity: 185,000,000 stamps
Paper Type: Phosphor, Block Tag
Colors: PMS 10418 C, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Stamp Orientation: Vertical
Image Area (w x h): 0.7700 x 1.0500 in. / 19.5580 x 26.6700 mm.
Stamp Size (w x h): 0.9100 x 1.1900 in. / 23.1140 x 30.2260 mm..
Booklet Size (w x h): 5.7430 x 2.3750 in. / 145.8720 x 60.3250 mm.
Plate Size: 800 stamps per revolution
Plate Number: “B” followed by five (5) single digits
Marginal Markings: Header: CHRISTMAS • Madonna and Child • TWENTY FIRST-CLASS™ FOREVER® STAMPS • © 2026 USPS in peel strip area • Barcode • USPS logo • Promotional text • Plate number in peel strip area
Updated August 20th:
Here are the first-day postmarks for this issue: 
The Digital Color Postmark measures 3.0″ x 1.5″
The Pictorial Postmark measures 2.74″ x 1.23″
https://www.stampsforever.com/stamps/christmas-madonna-and-child-2026 Here it is shown as a booklet stamp – like usual. The USPS press release had it looking like a coil – like on your site. Is it being issued in both? Was the press release just wrong image – should have been pictured a booklet? Just wondering.
The press releases always say the designs are subject to change. I think the booklet format is the most likely. But the USPS could surprise us and issue both.
I would be surprised if both would be issued. Say, why Christmas stamps are issued only as booklets and not coils? They used to come in panes until 1990. Most other “Special stamps” come in panes as well.
While “the public” insists a religious Christmas stamp must be available, they don’t actually sell that well. That’s why there are new “contemporary” Christmas stamps every year, but a new Madonna stamp every other year. That is probably why the Madonna stamps are only issued in the popular-with-the-mailers format of booklets.
But then, so are the others. The United States was founded by freemasons, with the majority of which were Protestants (a branch of Christianity). Since that time, Christianity is the leading religion in the US with other Abrahamic religions (Judaism and Islam) coming second and third respectively. November 1996 was the time when the first Hanukkah stamp was introduced. 2001 was when USPS released its first EID stamp, with Diwali coming in 2016, and wasn’t reissued until this year.
The USPS has been issuing new Hanukkah and Kwanzaa stamps every two years. I will have to ask, but I’d guess that in past years when a Madonna stamp was issued in multiple formats, the booklets were the ones that sold the best.
I have not found any information for a first day ceremony for this stamp. Is there one scheduled?
I don’t think we got any. I’ll check.
From the USPS: “The Madonna and Child stamp does not have a FDOI ceremony planned. A Special Dedication at the Clark Institute is in the works for November.”
Where can I find this type of information? Is it posted by USPS anywhere. You can find the date and city location for the ceremony but specific location and times are for some reason difficult to find. I was planning on driving to this ceremony figuring it was either at Clark or the post office. I have searched the internet high and low for information. Glad I stumbled on your information, but it would be great if there was a site I could go to for the information it would nice to have it. Thanks and I appreciate your site.
The USPS posts press releases athttps://about.usps.com/newsroom/. Details about ceremonies are usually announced about a month in advance. However, as you discovered, there’s not always notice of a lack of information. If we know there won’t be a ceremony, it’s usually noted in The Virtual Stamp Club’s 2026 U.S. Stamp Program (and its successors. But this lack of a ceremony wasn’t. I’ll correct that in a moment. I don’t know of any other listing of upcoming ceremonies and non-ceremonies.
Thank you! I appreciate this site.