Celebrating Lunar New Year

What:

Bright pink peach blossoms highlight the 2019 Year of the Boar stamp, the 12th and final stamp in the U.S. Postal Service's Celebrating Lunar New Year series. The Year of the Boar begins Feb. 5, 2019, and ends on Jan. 24, 2020.

The first-day-of-issue event is free and open to the public. News of the stamp is being shared with the hashtag #LunarNewYear. 

Who:

Luke Grossmann, vice president, Finance and Planning, U.S. Postal Service 

When:

Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019, at 11 a.m. CST

Where:

Chinese Community Center

9800 Town Park Drive

Houston, TX 77036

RSVP:

Dedication ceremony attendees are encouraged to RSVP at usps.com/lunarnewyear.

Background:

Around the world, millions of people welcome a new year with gifts, music and celebration. The Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival in China and Tet in Vietnam, is the most important holiday of the year for many Asian communities.

The stamp design features original artwork by Kam Mak with elements from the previous series of Lunar New Year stamps ? Clarence Lee's intricate cut-paper design of a boar and the Chinese character for "boar" drawn in grass-style calligraphy by Lau Bun. Ethel Kessler was the art director for this stamp.

In China, peach trees typically bloom in early February, just in time for the new year. The striking pink blossoms mark the beginning of spring in Chinese culture.

The Year of the Boar stamp is being issued as a Forever stamp in self-adhesive souvenir sheets of 12. This Forever stamp will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price.