Einar Holbøll

Einar Holbøll was a postmaster and philanthropist from Denmark who conceived the idea of Christmas Seals and was fundamentally involved in their issuance. They were sold at post offices to raise much needed funds to research and fight tuberculosis, an incurable lung disease that was occurring in alarming proportions in Denmark and other countries around the world, esp among children. After much effort, Holbøll, convinced the Danish government to issue Christmas Seals, and in December, 1904, Denmark issued its first Christmas Seal. Christmas Seals were soon adapted by other countries, including Sweden, Norway, Iceland and the United States. Subsequently, the association between Christmas seals and their usage with the fight against tuberculosis became prevalent throughout the twentieth century. The great success of the Christmas seal provided the badly need funding to make the effort to fight tuberculosis possible.