More About Those Stamps

Reading all the notes on the Royal Mail website, I have found out more about how the artist wanted to portray the star as representing hope and fulfilment, and the need for guidance and peace. The words below are from the £12 presentation pack. I think it is a good read...

Mary and Joseph did not choose to make the journey to Bethlehem; it was a requirement for the couple to be registered in Joseph's ancestral town. It was a difficult and uncomfortable trip for the heavily pregnant Mary and on anxious one for Joseph, who was resolved to keep her and the baby safe, yet they kept going, and eventually the little town come into view. 

In our journey through life, the difficulties we face on the way need not prevent us from reaching our destination. None of us arrive at the fulfilment we all seek without guidance. In ancient times, travellers navigated their progress by following the stars. In the Christmas story, the star is the guiding light for Mary and Joseph as they travel to Bethlehem. 

Stars have always fascinated human beings because they show that the universe is bigger than us, that our world is only a small part of the whole. In the Bible story, the star of Bethlehem was a new star that appeared in the East and heralded the down of a new age. The Bible story of Christmas also includes angels. 

The word "angel” simply means messenger, and the biblical angels are supernatural beings who travel between Heaven and Earth. Their role is to bring guidance to humanity and to announce peace. Angels represent communication, and so remind us of all the affirming links and connections that help us to find our way in life. We are never alone. 

...angels bring good news from Heaven to help us on our way. Two very different groups of people come to the stable at Bethlehem to greet the new born Jesus. The first are poor working men-shepherds guarding their sheep from thieves and predators. At first they had been terrified by the appearance of heavenly visitors, but the angels calmed their fears, and they found the confidence to set out to find the heavenly child.

The second group who come to the stable are strangers, wise men from the East who follow the star. They represent those whose arts and skills have made them powerful. Yet, in spite of their riches and success, they have the insight to know they need something that fame and money cannot give. Realising that they are not self-sufficient, they find the humility to follow the star on the long journey that leads to the stable, where they offer their gifts to the infant king. For rich and poor alike, the birth in the manger represents the need for something or someone greater than ourselves and the humility we need to find our true goal.

We are all in our different ways on a pilgrimage through life, a search for fulfilment and meaning, and the star of Bethlehem symbolises the goal of life's journey. Old or young, rich or poor, we cannot stay the same forever. The birth in the stable represents the renewal of life, the reassurance that our existence is neither empty nor meaningless. Our passage through time invites us to make choices. We can move on or stay still, be self-satisfied or self-giving. As we advance towards a new year, the star is the symbol of all we most hope for and desire and of the effort of seeking and finding - and that remains true this Christmas and every day of our lives.