2012 The Holy Family | 5 booklets of 20

WASHINGTON — The dramatic story of the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt has been depicted in art and music for centuries. Today, the story travels on millions of Forever stamps with the U.S. Postal Service’s issuance of the Holy Family stamp as the nation prepares for the holiday mailing season.

The stamp was unveiled at Bethlehem Chapel, the earliest completed portion of Washington National Cathedral. The center panel of the limestone altar reredos (backdrop) depicts the birth of Jesus, and the chapel’s five windows tell the Nativity story with colorful detail. The design of the 1980 Christmas stamp featured the Madonna and Child taken from the chapel’s Epiphany stained glass window. The Christmas-themed iconography of Bethlehem Chapel extends to the needlepoint kneelers, which bear symbols and images related to the Nativity story including stars, mangers, camels, magi, shepherds, and angels.