Happy Holi !

Happy Holi !

Wishing you all a very Happy and colorful Holi !

2019 Bird of the Year in Belarus

2019 Bird of the year in Belarus 

 Greater spotted eagle

The 21st Congress of the public organization “Ahova ptushak Batskaushchyny” (Protection of Homeland Birds) declared the Greater spotted eagle the bird of the year 2019 in Belarus.

The Greater spotted eagle is one of the rarest birds of prey in Europe, and it is in danger of extinction.

In Belarus the Greater spotted eagle can be found mainly in the territory of the Pripyat Polesie. Outside of this region it is extremely rare. The largest population lives in the area of the Olmanskiye swamps.

The current number of the birds in Belarus is estimated at 150-200 pairs, which is about 15% of the European population of the species.

The Greater spotted eagle is listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Belarus since 1981. 

The project was prepared with the assistance of the public organization “Ahova ptushak Batskaushchyny”.

The stamp contains the logos of the global partnership of conservation organizations "BirdLife International" and the Belarus public organization "Ahova ptushak Batskaushchyny" (APB).

Courtesy - Wolfgang Beyer, Germany; Bel Post

New Stamps on Easter

Easter Eggs from Poland

Date of Issue : 18 March 2019

Here is a beautiful set of stamps to be  issued by Polish Post on 18th March featuring decorative eggs. Eggs are integral part of Easter. Polish Post issues  special and very beautiful stamps on Easter ever year  !

Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs,are decorated eggs that are usually used as gifts on the occasion of Easter. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tradition is to use dyed and painted chicken eggs, but a modern custom is to substitute chocolate eggs wrapped in colored foil, hand-carved wooden eggs, or plastic eggs filled with confectionery such as chocolate. However, real eggs continue to be used in Central and Eastern European tradition. Although eggs, in general, were a traditional symbol of fertility and rebirth in Christianity, for the celebration of Eastertide.

Easter eggs symbolize the empty tomb of Jesus, from which Jesus resurrected. In addition, one ancient tradition was the staining of Easter eggs with the colour red "in memory of the blood of Christ, shed as at that time of his crucifixion." This custom of the Easter egg can be traced to early Christians of Mesopotamia, and from there it spread into Russia and Siberia through the Orthodox Churches, and later into Europe through the Catholic and Protestant Churches. This Christian use of eggs may have been influenced by practices in "pre-dynastic period in Egypt, as well as amid the early cultures of Mesopotamia and Crete".

Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019

World Games Abu Dhabi 2019 

  March 8 to 22, 2019

Date of Issue : 7 March 2019

Abu Dhabi will host the World Games from March 8 to 22, 2019. The UAE’s capital will stage the most unified Special Olympics World Games in the history of the Special Olympics.Polish Post issued commemorative a stamp to commemorate this big Sport event.

Abu Dhabi aims to be the most Unified host for the most Unified games ever held with more than 170 participating countries in the World Games. Also, it will be unified in the way it is run and organized – people with intellectual disabilities will be involved in all facets of the Games, providing every spectator, guest and fan an inclusive and transformational experience with Special Olympics Athletes.

New Special Covers : Kumbh Mela

Kumbh Mela, Prayagraj 2019

Pontoon Bridge

Kumbh Mela, Prayagraj 2019

Floating Post Office

These are the last two covers issued on Kumbh Mela 2019 which concluded on Mahashivratri 4th March 2019. A big "Thank you " to Mr Rahul Ganguli and Prayag Philatelic Society for  sending me complete set of  Kumbh Mela 2019 Registered Special Covers.

Invention of Sugar Cube

Date of Issue : 6 March 2019

Here is a beautiful stamp for tea and coffee lovers featuring sugar cube which was  invented in Czech Republic. The stamp was recently issued on 6th March 2019. Here is the story of its invention !

After the end of the Napoleonic wars, attempts at extracting sugar from sugar beet were resumed in the Habsburg monarchy in the 1820s. The first modern type sugar manufacture in the western part of the Habsburg monarchy was founded in Kostelní Vydří nearby Dačice in the estate of Karel Maxmilián Dalberg in 1829. In 1833, František Grebner, with the financial support of Viennese banker J.B. Puthon, established a sugar refinery directly in Dačice. The Dačice refinery resumed the tradition of the sugar factory in Kostelní Vydří. Dačice sugar was supplied to Southwest Moravia, South and East Bohemia as well as to Austrian borderlands. Sugar was also sold from warehouses of the Dačice refinery established in Vienna, Pest, Lvov, and also in Brno. Jakub Kryštof Rad, the refinery director, established a manufacture of candied fruit, sweets, and chocolate in Dačice in 1841, in which he also involved his wife Juliana, in order to make better use of some of the sugar refinery products. 

The difficult-to-use shapes of sugar products, such as cones, hats, or loaves, made Jakub Kryštof Rad to come up with the idea of sugar cubes. Cone-shape sugar was impractical both for business and private use - cones were difficult to pack and easy to break. Also, attempts at cutting an exact amount of sugar were not always successful and a lot of sugar was wasted. The patent for the production of sugar cubes was soon acquired by Prussia, Saxony, Bavaria, Switzerland, and England. An improved form of Rad’s invention is still used by sugar refineries all around the world.