European Christmas market sights shown on Pennsylvania postmark

By Michael Baadke

The selection of postmarks this week is overwhelmingly Christmas-themed, though the folks in Kitty Hawk, N.C., have two new postmarks recognizing those aviation pioneers, Orville and Wilbur Wright, on Dec. 17.

The brothers took turns on that date in 1903 piloting their Wright Flyer airplane into the history books.

Some 400 miles to the north, in Mifflinburg, Pa., a holiday postmark features the Christkindl Market, and celebrates with European Christmas traditions. The postmark shows a decorative Christmas pyramid at left, which has a fan at the top that rotates because of the heat rising from lit candles.

At right are Germany’s famous Bremen Town Musicians — a donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster — stacked one upon the other to create their own pyramid.

The animals are shown in a pose familiar to those who know the story. It closely resembles the bronze statue in Bremen that honors the Brothers Grimm fairy tale about the homeless creatures.

To obtain the Christkindl Market postmark, address your requests to:

CHRISTKINDL MARKET MIFFLINBURG Station, Postmaster, 10 N. Fourth St., Mifflinburg, PA 17844-9998, Dec. 11,12 and 14.

The following postmarks are also available:

CHRISTMAS IN A RAILROAD TOWNE Station, Postmaster, 500 S. Seventh St., Opelika, AL 36801-9998, Dec. 11. (Standing Santa.)

HOLLY JOLLY JASPER COUNTY CHRISTMAS Station, Postmaster, 201 W. Jourdan St., Newton, IL 62448-9998, Dec. 11. (Snowman from the 1964 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer animated television special playing a banjo.)

PAGEANT Station, Postmaster, Box 9998, Springfield, MN 56087-9998, Dec. 11. (Camel, “30th Season 2015 Springfield Nativity Pageant.”)

RUDOLPH COUNTRY CHRISTMAS Station, Postmaster, Box 9998, Rudolph, WI 54475-9998, Dec. 12. (Rudolph in flight.)

SEND A CARD FOR THE HOLIDAYS Station, Postmaster, 511 E. Walnut, Columbia, MO 65201-9998, Dec. 12. (Four posts with sign, “Central MO PCC,” open mailbox with two envelopes, snowflakes.)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS ELF Station, Postmaster, 1 Pine St., Centennial, WY 82055-9998, Dec. 12. (Elf holding round ornament.)

ALLAIRE VILLAGE Station, Postmaster, 66 Main St., Farmingdale, NJ 07727-9998, Dec. 13. (Blacksmith shop exterior, “Christmas at Allaire.”)

WRIGHT BROTHERS Station, Postmaster, Box 9998, Kitty Hawk, NC 27949-9998, Dec. 17. (Wright Flyer, one brother standing on ground, “112th anniversary of powered flight.”)

WRIGHT BROTHERS MEMORIAL Station, Postmaster, Box 9998, Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948-9998, Dec. 17. (Memorial marker, “112th anniversary of powered flight.”)

HIGHLAND COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM Station, Postmaster, 301 N. High St., Hillsboro, OH 45133-9998, Dec. 19. (“1965-2015, 50th Anniversary,” decorations.)

Requesting pictorial postmarks is easy and fun. Share information by writing to Postmark Pursuit, Box 4129, Sidney, OH 45365.