SSSNAKES SSSURFACE. A new Year of the Snake stamp (left image) is part of a third series of Lunar New Year stamps issued by the U.S. Postal Service. Previous Snake stamps were issued in 2001 (top right) and 2013 (bottom right). (Images courtesy of the U.S. Postal Service)

From The Asian Reporter, V35, #1 (January 6, 2025), pages 11 & 15.

The third series of Lunar New Year stamps issued by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) will soon welcome its Year of the Snake stamp. The first-day-of-issue ceremony for the Snake stamp will be held January 14 at the Wang Theatre in Boston.

The Lunar New Year is one of the most important holidays of the year for many Asian communities around the world and is celebrated by people of Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Malaysian, Mongolian, Tibetan, Vietnamese, and other heritages.

Millions of people across the globe will mark the Lunar New Year this month by hosting parades and parties, decorating with red and gold lanterns, setting off firecrackers to ward off evil spirits, and inviting family and friends to share traditional foods to welcome the new year. Gifts are also given and houses are cleaned to commemorate this time of renewal.

People born in the Year of the Snake are said to be quiet, wise, and deep-thinking, making them proficient musicians, philosophers, writers, and teachers. The Snake Year is sometimes referred to as the "Little Dragon Year" because it follows the Dragon on the zodiac. In 2025, we welcome the Year of the Wood Snake, which begins January 29, 2025 and ends February 16, 2026.

The 2025 Snake stamp features a green 3-dimensional mask of a snake, a contemporary take on the long tradition of paper-cut folk-art crafts created during this festive time of year. Created by artist Camille Chew, the stamp is a forever stamp, meaning it will always be equal in value to the current first-class mail one-ounce price.

The very first USPS Lunar New Year stamp was issued in 1992 and represented the Year of the Rooster. Worth 29 cents, the stamp had a paper-cut two-dimensional look in addition to kanji characters written by a professional calligrapher. The remaining 11 animals in the lunar zodiac followed each year.

The initial series was completed with the issuance of the Year of the Monkey stamp, which was later followed with a pane of stamps featuring all 12 animals.

Late artist Clarence Lee, an American of Chinese descent who was born in Honolulu, designed the original USPS series.

Following the conclusion of the first series of stamps, members of the Asian community urged USPS to continue its issuance of Lunar New Year stamps annually, which led to a second set that was called the Celebrating Lunar New Year series.

Instead of illustrating the zodiac animals in the new series, artist Kam Mak created symbolic objects of Lunar New Year celebrations — red lanterns (2008), lion head (2009), narcissus flowers (2010), kumquats (2011), dragon (2012), firecrackers (2013), drums (2014), Tray of Togetherness (2015), peonies (2016), red envelope (2017), lucky bamboo (2018), and pink peach blossoms (2019).

The first stamp, issued in honor of the Year of the Rat, was released in 2008. Each new stamp in the Celebrating Lunar New Year series featured small animal illustrations in a traditional paper-cutout style, by Lee, the artist who created the first stamp series that began in 1992, in the upper left corner. Mak designed the series with art director Ethel Kessler.

The third series began in 2020 and will conclude in 2031.

To learn more, or to purchase the new Year of the Snake stamp, call 1-800-STAMP24 (1-800-782-6724) or visit <www.usps.com/stamps>.

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