New stamps on Year of Snake..

 

Australia Post celebrates the Year of the Snake

To celebrate the Year of the Snake, Australia Post released a Lunar New Year stamp issue featuring the Chinese character for the snake, shown in the $1.80 stamp, and its pictorial representation, shown in the 60c stamp.

The Snake is the sixth sign in the Chinese zodiac and symbolizes wisdom, caution and romance. The Year of the Snake begins on 10 February 2013.

Famous people born in the Year of the Snake include Sir Sidney Nolan, Audrey Hepburn, Bob Hawke, June Bronhill, Liz Hurley and Pierce Brosnan. According to Chinese Astrology they are likely to be or have been intelligent, graceful, independent, analytical and charming.

Zodiac 2013 stamp from Thailand

Thai Post has issued a stamp to celebrate the Year of the Snake. The Snake is one of the 12-year cycles of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac and related to the Chinese calendar, as well as in related East Asian zodiacal or calendrical systems.

  

2013 Year of the Snake stamps from New Zealand

The snake is the sixth animal in the Chinese lunar calendar, and those born in the Year of the Snake are thought to be elegant, insightful, motivated and highly intellectual. According to ancient Chinese folklore, snakes are deities in disguise, and a snake entering a house brings good fortune for all who live there.

The 2013 Year of the Snake stamp issue by New Zealand Post reflects different aspects of Chinese tradition and culture. The four stamps also celebrate New Zealand's growing Chinese community.

  

The stamps in this issue are as follows:

70c – Chinese Calligraphic Snake. The striking Chinese 'snake' character on this stamp was created by Zhao Meng-fu, a scholar, painter and calligrapher from the Yuan Dynasty (1254-1322 AD).

$1.40 – Paper-cut Greeting Snake. The greeting snake paper-cut on this stamp features images of the silver fern (Cyathea dealbata) and the pomegranate - a Chinese symbol of luck, fertility, wealth and long life.

$1.90 – Koru-Snake Lantern. New Zealand's links with China are celebrated in this lantern design. The unfurling fern represents new life, growth and strength, while the rounded lantern symbolizes wholeness and harmony. The snake is decorated with the peony, which is widely regarded as China's national flower.

$2.40 – Queenstown and Red lanterns. The koru-snake lantern is taken to new heights, soaring on the Skyline Gondola above Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu. This area is also home to the Winter Festival, and in 2012 the Festival included a lantern parade, with an array of colourful lanterns and a Chinese dragon lighting up the streets.

Lunar Year of the Snake stamps from Macao

There are two kinds of theories about the attributes of the Five Elements in each year: one saying is dependent on the "Heavenly Stems" while the other is based on the sound retainers of the Five Elements, which are calculated by "Heavenly Stems" and "Earthly Branches".

The Macao Post adopted the "Heavenly Stems" calculation method to figure out the nature of the "Five Elements" in the sixth issue of the third series of Chinese Zodiac stamps "Lunar Year of the Snake". According to the "Five Elements", there are five different natures of snake: "Water Snake", "Metal Snake", "Earth Snake", "Fire Snake" and "Wood Snake". This year, the snake’s nature from the "Five Elements" is "Water Snake", so it becomes the main character of the five stamps.

 

Source : International Stamp News

Happy New Year

 

 

Lunar New Year – Year of Snake

Stamp issued by Papua New Guinea

2013 marks the Chinese New Year of the Snake, and Chunghwa Post (Taiwan) is issuing a new set of New Year's Greeting Postage Stamps with two stamps and a souvenir sheet featuring the upcoming year's animal sign. In keeping with the pop modern art and traditional Chinese ink-wash styles of the 2010 and 2011 issues, the vignette of each of the stamps features an artistically papercutted snake or a pair of snakes colored in bright yellow and royal purple against a pale-orange background with random yellow splatters. The bright color scheme spotlights the joyous atmosphere of the Year of the Snake. The designs follow:

1. NT$3.50 Stamp: The long bodies curled against each other in symmetry and the heads pointing to opposite directions, this pair of snakes represents the spirit of "one mind" and symbolizes "warmth and all one's wishes will come true."

2. NT$13.00 Stamp: The snake's head surges forward, with the plump, curved body curling behind. The snake looks spirited and ready to spring into action. This image represents "courage" and symbolizes "marching ahead bravely."

3. NT$12.00 Souvenir Sheet: With its upper body standing erect and the head tilting to one side to face its curved tail, this snake signifies "mettle," and reflects the spirit of "sprightliness and "everything goes according to one's wishes."

Lunar New Year Year of the Snake

 

Date of Issue : 8 January 2013

Canada Post will issue stamps and souvenir sheets on 8 January 2013 to commemorate Lunar Year of Snake.The Year of the Snake begins on February 10, 2013, and ends on January 30, 2014.

In Western culture, calling someone a snake is considered fighting words. But in the Asian countries that celebrate the Lunar New Year, the Snake is viewed as the wisest and most enigmatic of all the zodiac creatures. In fact, it's such a strong sign of intelligence and luck that an ancient Chinese saying notes that finding a snake in one's home is great fortune and ensures that the inhabitants will never go hungry.

The Year of the Snake, in this case a water snake, slithers in on February 10, 2013, and bids farewell on January 30, 2014. The sixth of 12 creatures in the zodiac, the Snake represents intelligence, materialism and gracefulness. Those born in the Year of the Snake are analytical and tend to look closely before they leap. They love luxury and know how to get what they want. Even if it means scheming and plotting, clever and cunning snakes know that the end justifies whatever means necessary. Still, the Snake requires peace; noise and stress are not well tolerated. The hard-working and ambitious Snake is successful in professional life, but tends to hop jobs, becoming easily bored if not sufficiently challenged or rewarded.

The duo stamp issue (Permanent™ domestic and International) for the Year of the Snake, the fifth in this series, is created in lavish textures befitting the luxury-loving Snake. On the domestic stamp, a red snake slithers on curving waves, symbolizing the water influence on this particular Year of the Snake. On the international stamp, a yellow and green jade snake, artfully embossed on multiple levels to provide three-dimensionality and simulate scales, coils into a stylized 8, the luckiest and most valued number by the Chinese people. Both images visually draw on the most significant character attributes of the Year of the Snake.

Booklet of 6 stamps

 

2013 CHINESE LUNAR CALENDAR  YEAR OF THE SNAKE PERSONALIZED STAMP SHEET from UNPA

On 28 January 2013, UNPA will issue a Chinese lunar calendar personalized stamp sheet celebrating the "Year of the Snake". This is the fourth year in which UNPA has issued a Chinese lunar calendar sheet. The sheet is composed of ten US$ 1.10 denominated stamps with the UN logo.