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Philatelists in Poland have their own holiday and it is celebrated on 6 January. It is the date commemorating the foundation of the first Polish philatelic association “The Philatelists’ Club” in Krakow in 1893.
Philately in general is a study of postage stamps and postal history. Nowadays, however, it is mostly associated with collecting all kinds of postal values, mainly stamps.
Philately appeared right after the introduction of the first postage stamps in 1840. The first association of philatelists was organised in Belgium in the 1850s, while the first Polish association of this kind was founded in Krakow in 1893. In 1926, the International Philatelic Federation was founded, and in 1950, the Polish Philatelists Union was established in Poland. Today, the number of people involved in philately is estimated to be around 200 million.
A person engaged in this type of hobby is called a philatelist. The French philatelist Georges Herpin was the founder of this term. He took the Greek root words phil(o)-, meaning “an attraction or affinity for something”, and ateleia, meaning “exempt from duties and taxes,” and formed “philatélie.”
