Christmas Seals: A Holiday Tradition

By Author: NC
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(NC)—Christmas is a season of joy and caring, a time to open our hearts. For over 80 years, The Lung Association's Christmas Seals has been part of our Canadian tradition of caring, to help the one in five Canadians with lung disease.

The Christmas Seal tradition began one December evening in 1903, when a Danish postal worker named Einar Holboell was sorting piles of Christmas mail. He caught a glimpse of two ragged children walking in the swirling snow, and the contrast between their poverty and the cheerful cards passing through his hands troubled him and gave him an idea. If each letter carried an extra stamp, he thought, every Christmas greeting sent could raise money for the less fortunate.

Four million Christmas Seals were sold in Denmark the following year - far beyond Mr. Holboell's expectations. The funds were used to build hospitals to help the many children with tuberculosis, the leading cause of death at the time. The idea to "Stamp out Tuberculosis" crossed the Atlantic in 1907, when funds from the Seals were used to keep a sanatorium in Delaware from closing. The next year, ...
... a group of concerned Canadians sold Christmas Seals to build a TB sanatoria in the Toronto-Hamilton area. By 1927, the campaign was the official method for tuberculosis associations across the country to raise funds from the public.

Christmas Seals remain the most important source of funds for fighting asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (emphysema and chronic bronchitis) and other lung diseases.

Today, The Lung Association uses the funds raised through Christmas Seals for educational programs, support for those with lung disease and their families, training programs for health care professionals, and research into the prevention and cure of lung disease. With the help of generous Canadians, The Lung Association will raise funds to help people live better one breath at a time.

Something as simple as breathing is difficult for one in five Canadians. Please support our Christmas Seal Campaign, because, when you can't breathe, nothing else matters. Call our toll-free number 1-888-566-5864 (LUNG) or visit us at www.lung.ca.

- News Canada
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News Canada