Christmas 2011
Megjelenési időpont: 2011. október 27.
In 2011 the festive stamps show two Catholic churches with Nativity scenes that are unique both in Hungarian and world terms. In Central Europe the arrangement of Biblical tableaux using sculptures to depict the birth of Christ during Advent is a tradition dating back several hundred years.
Nagykarácsony
Magyar Posta is cancelling mail sent via the post office in the village of Nagykarácsony, whose name means Christmas in Hungarian, with a special postmark for the 23rd time. Here the “post office of love” first opened in 1992 and since then has opened to the public on the first Sunday in Advent every year. There has also been the Hungarian Nativity in Nagykarácsony since 2000. The Catholic church in Nagykarácsony, built in 1936, has an unusual interior with a finely carved wooden gallery and a panelled ceiling. The altarpiece is Our Lady of the Hungarians, which portrays Saint Stephen offering Hungary to the Virgin Mary. It was painted by István Takács, a celebrated artist from the Matyó region of Hungary. On the side walls there are eight icons of saints and martyrs associated with the approach of Advent and the period after it painted by László Patay, an artist from Ráckeve, in 2001. These show Saint Francis Xavier, Saint John of Damascus, Saint Nicholas, Saint Lucy, Saint Stephen, Saint John, the Holy Innocents and Saint Sylvester.
Vörs
The
first written record of Vörs dates from 1261. The most important
building in the village is the Roman Catholic church, consecrated around
1720. It was extended considerably one hundred years later and rebuilt
in a late baroque style. The arrangement of a Nativity scene in Vörs is a
living tradition dating back more than half a century. The first crib
in the Roman Catholic church in the village lying near the Kis-Balaton
area in Somogy county was arranged in 1948. The special indoor scene of
the Nativity, which is rebuilt every year, is unrivalled in Europe. The
monumental work is sited at the altar of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in
the church in Vörs. Apart from the people and animals made of plaster,
everything is made of natural materials, and there is even a small pond
with water. Approximately fifty boxes of moss, several dozen fir trees
and many cubic metres of timber are used to build the scene.
The
Nagykarácsony church is on the left of the HUF 90 stamp, and next to it
is a detail of the largest outdoor Nativity scene in Hungary, which is
to be found in Nagykarácsony. The Roman Catholic church in Vörs is on
the left of the HUF 115 stamp, with a detail of the largest indoor
Nativity scene in Europe, which is rebuilt every year, next to it.
Gold-colour foil has been used for the inscription Karácsony (Christmas)
and other decorative motifs on the stamps. On the outer edge the
wording “THE NAGYKARÁCSONY CHURCH IS 75 YEARS OLD” is repeated. The
churches are depicted on the first day covers for the set of stamps and
the motif of the special cancellation is an angel.
Order code: 2011211050231 (set) 2011211060032 (FDC)
Date of issue: 27 October 2011
Total face value: HUF 205
Number of copies issued: dependent on demand.
Perforated size of stamp: 40 x 30 mm
Printing method: offset and gold foil
Printed by Pénzjegynyomda
Photo by József Hajdú
Designed by Eszter Domé
