Stamp on Hanukkah festival from USPS..

 

Date of Issue : 19 November 2013

US Postal Service issued a stamp on Jewish festival, Hanukkah . The festival is  celebrated by Jewish people around the world, Hanukkah, the joyous Festival of Lights, spans eight nights and days of remembrance and ritual.

Central to the celebration is the hanukiah, a nine-branched menorah used only at Hanukkah. Eight of its branches represent each of the eight nights and days of Hanukkah, and the ninth, the shamash or “the servant,” is used to light the other candles. The stamp, first issued in 2013, is a photograph of a contemporary forged-iron hanukiah created by Vermont blacksmith Steven Bronstein. Nine lighted white beeswax candles top each of the branches. The word “Hanukkah” is spelled out across the top of the stamp in yellow letters.

Hanukkah is the Hebrew word for “dedication.” Tradition relates how a miracle took place during the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, which had been desecrated. The sacramental oil, thought to be enough for only one day, burned for eight days. The miracle of the oil is at the heart of the ritual of the lighting of the hanukiah.

The celebration of Hanukkah begins on the 25th of Kislev in the Hebrew calendar, a date that falls in late November or December. In 2014, Hanukkah begins at sundown on December 16.

Hanukkah is the Hebrew word for “dedication.” Tradition relates how a miracle took place during the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, which had been desecrated. The sacramental oil, thought to be enough for only one day, burned for eight days.

The miracle of the oil is at the heart of the ritual of the lighting of the hanukiah, a menorah — candelabra — with nine branches, one for each of the eight nights and days of Hanukkah, and the ninth, the shamash or “the servant,” used to light the other candles. The hanukiah, used only at Hanukkah, is traditionally placed in the window of the home to proclaim the miracle to passersby.

After the lighting of the candles, family members might sing traditional songs and exchange gifts. Children play a game called dreidel. Competing for a pot of chocolate coins, nuts, pennies, or other prizes, each player takes turns spinning the dreidel, a four-sided top with letters on each side that form an acronym for the Hebrew saying “A great miracle happened there.” Depending on the outcome of the dreidel’s spin, the player either takes from or gives to the pot. The game ends when one player has won all the treats.

Feasting is an important part of the celebration as well. Foods associated with Hanukkah include latkes, potato cakes fried in oil; bimuelos, fried dough dipped in honey or sugar; and sufganiot, fried jelly doughnuts.

The eight nights and days of Hanukkah begin on the 25th of Kislev in the Hebrew calendar, a date that falls in late November or December. In 2013, Hanukkah begins at sundown Nov. 27.

 

From our Readers…

Mr Timir Shah of Vadodara shares here  stamp sheet  of recent Sachin’s stamp issue. The  Inscriptional Margin of Sachin Tendulakar's 200 test match stamp sheet  shows that stamp was printed on 2nd November 2013.