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NEW DECADE, NEW SERIES. A new Year of the Rat stamp (top photo)
is the first stamp in a third series by the U.S. Postal Service
celebrating the Lunar New Year. The first stamp in the first
series — the 29-cent Year of the Rooster (bottom photo) — was
released in 1992. It was created by the late artist Clarence
Lee, an American of Chinese descent who was born in Honolulu,
Hawai‘i.
From The Asian Reporter, V30, #02 (January 20, 2020),
page 13.
U.S. Postal Service begins new series of 12
Lunar New Year stamps
A new Year of the Rat stamp is the first in a third series by
the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) celebrating the Lunar New Year.
The stamp was dedicated this month during opening ceremonies of
the Monterey Park Lunar New Year Festival, one of the largest
festivals of its kind in the nation.
With blue as the predominant color (said to be one of the
lucky colors for individuals born during the Year of the Rat),
the rat mask in the stamp design incorporates elements with
symbolic meaning. Several of the patterns were created with the
style of Asian textiles and the circle in the center of the
Rat’s head represents the new moon on which the Lunar New Year
begins. A pop of the very lucky color red ties the design in
with other common celebratory decorations.
New Year celebrations
The Lunar New Year is the most important holiday of the year
for many Asian communities. In the United States and elsewhere,
the occasion is celebrated in various ways on New Year’s day and
in the days that follow. Parties, special events, and parades
featuring enormous and vibrantly painted papier-mâché dragons
are common at festivities. The Lunar New Year is observed by
people of Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tibetan, Mongolian, and
other heritages.
Around the world and across varied cultures, there are many
traditions to ring in a new year of good luck and prosperity. In
communities across the United States, people shop for food and
other supplies, hang decorations, and ceremoniously clean their
homes and streets to welcome the year with a fresh start.
Year of the Rat
The Rat, also referred to as the Mouse in some cultural
traditions, is the first of the zodiac animal signs associated
with the lunar calendar. Those born during the Year of the Rat
are often viewed as clever, self-aware, and highly social. The
Year of the Rat begins January 25, 2020 and ends February 11,
2021.
Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the 2020 stamp with
original artwork by Camille Chew.
First series started in 1992
Late artist Clarence Lee, an American of Chinese descent who
was born in Honolulu, designed the first series of Lunar New
Year stamps, which began in 1992 with the 29-cent Year of the
Rooster stamp. The stamp had a paper-cut two-dimensional look.
The other 11 animals in the lunar zodiac followed, one each
year. Also on each stamp in the series were kanji
characters stating the name of each stamp written by a
professional calligrapher.
After the original series ended, Asian community members
urged USPS to continue the annual issuance of Lunar New Year
stamps.
Second series released in 2008
A second set of stamps, called the Celebrating Lunar New Year
series, began in 2008. The stamps were designed by Kam Mak, an
artist who grew up in New York City’s Chinatown, along with art
director Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, Maryland.
Instead of taking the obvious route of illustrating the
animals each year, Mak chose to depict symbolic objects featured
in Lunar New Year celebrations. They were:
Year of the Rat (2008):
Red lantern
Year of the Ox (2009):
Lion dance
Year of the Tiger (2010):
Narcissus flowers
Year of the Rabbit (2011):
Kumquats
Year of the Dragon (2012):
Dragon dance
Year of the Snake (2013):
Firecrackers
Year of the Horse (2014):
Drums
Year of the Sheep (2015):
New Year sweets
Year of the Monkey (2016):
Peony
Year of the Rooster (2017):
Red envelopes
Year of the Dog (2018):
Lucky bamboo
Year of the Pig (2019):
Peach blossoms
Each stamp also featured small animal illustrations, in
traditional paper-cutout style, by Lee, the artist who created
the first stamp series in 1992.
The 2020 Year of the Rat stamp is sold in panes of 20. A
forever stamp, it will always be equal in value to the current
first-class mail one-ounce price. To learn more, or to purchase
the new Lunar New Year stamp, call 1-800-STAMP24
(1-800-782-6724) or visit <www.usps.com/stamps>.
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