Bonhomme Noel

Children the world over know him by many different names and dressed in various garbs, but there is no doubt that our Santa Claus brings countless joy to million of youngsters during the festive Yuletide season each year. This year Canada Post Corporation's Christmas quartet of stamps is paying homage to him with designs depicting four classical images of the famous "man in red". The stamps, in denominations of the three most commonly used values of domestic rate, U.S. rate and international rate stamps, plus a special "Greet More" rate of 35¢ were issued on October 23, 1991, well in time for sending Christmas greetings and packages around the world. The very multicultural make-up of Canada today lends credence to the fact that the jolly old gentleman will be remembered according to one's ethnic background and upbringing. And each character in its own way symbolizes the real purpose and meaning of Christmas - the birth of Jesus Christ. France's Bonhomme Noël is the subject of the 46¢ stamp. St. Nicholas, who eventually became Bonhomme Noël, began the gift-giving tradition in the 12th century by filling children's shoes with gifts. He was later accompanied with Père Fouettard who left whips for the naughty children. The series was designed by Steven Slipp of Halifax, who created the Bishop Inglis stamp in 1988. His Santa designs are based on characters made from torn paper. Then he had the collage-like paper images scanned by a computer and digitally reduced to the proper stamp size. Combining traditional art with the latest in technology, Slipp's ingenuity marks the first time that final artwork for a Canadian stamp is simply a computer disk!