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For the Benefit of Children


By Erik Jensen

The world’s first Christmas seal was issued in Denmark in December 1904 which means that the Christmas Seal Foundation will be issuing its 100th Christmas Seal this year.


An Idea is Realized
Post office clerk Einar Holboell (1865-1927) got the idea for the Christmas Seal when in the busyness of sorting mail at Christmas 1903 he imagined the Christmas greetings provided with voluntary "extra postage" which then appropriately could be used for supporting sick and weakly children. His thoughts met with sympathy at the time and the Christmas Seal became reality already the following year.

The postal service agreed to let its personnel be in charge of the sale of the Christmas seals concurrently with the post office business, and Holboell ended his career as a highly decorated postmaster in Charlottenlund. Since that time his idea has been copied in many other countries all over the world as well as by a considerable number of Danish, national or local and more ore less charitable institutions.

The Development
At the beginning the collected amounts were used for building the Christmas Seal Sanatorium for tuberculous children in Kolding. It was opened in 1911, but already the same year transferred to the National Association for the Fight against Tuberculosis. In 1912 the Christmas Seal Committee founded two and later up to eight Christmas Seal Homes all over the country where weakly children and later also children suffering from e.g. asthma could "get some sun and put on flesh" during their stay.

After World War II children with mild mental problems eventually also found a refuge at the Christmas Seal Homes, and for the last decade an increasing number of overweight children or children that are victims of bullying have benefited from the offer for a breathing-space at the Christmas Seal Homes away from their everyday life. Application for a stay can only be made through a doctor. The Christmas Seal Foundation is today running four Christmas Seal Homes in Hobro, Kollund, Skaelskoer, and Oelsted.

The Christmas Seal 2003
Until today more than 3 billion Christmas Seals have been sold. Originally the price of a Christmas Seal was 2 ore, but from 2003 it cost 1 krone if you buy 50. Unfortunately, the decline in the number of written greetings during the last few years has affected the sale of the Christmas seals negatively, and the Christmas Seal Foundation has therefore now introduced "the electronic Christmas seal" for both e-mails, and e-Christmas cards. It can be bought at the Christmas Seal Office, 14 Brolaeggerstraede, 1211 Copenhagen K, or via the internet at the address www.julemaerket.dk.

The artist behind the Christmas Seal is always a well-preserved secret until the day before the sale starts. This year the name will be revealed at a press meeting on 3rd November. The following day the Christmas Seal Foundation will celebrate the issuing of especially Christmas Seal no. 100 by publishing a book "The Christmas Seal – to the Benefit of Children". The book is written by historian and senior research associate Kenn Tarbensen who tells the story of the Christmas Seal in principal lines and places the changing social work to the benefit of children at the Christmas Seal Homes in a context with the development of the Danish society. Through the past 99 years more than 65,000 children have got help to get on with their lives through a stay at one of the Christmas Seal Homes.


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