New Stamp on Diwali from Canada Post

 

Date of issue : 15 October 2020

A new commemorative stamp marking Diwali, a joyous five-day festival celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and other communities worldwide, was issued on 15 October 2020 by Canada Post.

This year, Diwali falls on Nov. 14 with festivities continuing for five days. Also known as the “Festival of Lights,” which begins on the 15th day of Kartika in the Hindu calendar, Diwali is celebrated through the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil. For many people, the annual observance is also a time to welcome happiness and good fortune.

In Canada, people often light candles in their homes, and this illumination is believed to ward off evil and attract happiness and good fortune.

Designed by Gerald Querubin at Toronto’s Entro Communications, the stamp features a diya alongside a vibrant geometric background evocative of a traditional rangoli. The Permanent domestic-rate issue is available in 10-stamp booklets, 130,000 of which were printed by Toronto’s Colour Innovations using five-colour lithography. Each stamp measures 28 millimetres by 35 millimetres (vertical).

Source : Canadian Stamp News

Eid Mubarak !

Eid Greetings

New Sping stamps from Canada Post

Dahlias

Date of issue : 2 March 2020

Canada Post will issue two beautiful stamps featuring Dahalia on March 2 to welcome spring season.Found mostly in Mexico, where it has been that country’s national flower since 1963, as well as Central America, dahlias are also grown in gardens around the world.

Club News

3rd EIPA Stamp & Coin Mela 2020

13-15 March 2020

Eastern India Philatelists's Association will organise a Stamp and Coin  Mela  from 13th-15th March 2020, at Hotel Keshari, Bhubanehwar. 

New Stamp - 2018 The Year of Dog

Date of Issue : 15 January 2018

Two new issues were released  by Canada Post today celebrating Lunar New Year - the Year of the Dog !

The design of the non-denominated Permanent stamp includes a Chinese paper lantern with the image of a dog overlaid in red. The words dog, chien and the Chinese characters for “gǒu” (or dog). The set will also include an international-rate stamp as well as a souvenir sheet.

From Feb. 16, 2018 to Feb. 4, 2019, those born in the Year of the Dog will have plenty of days to call their own. Possessing many of the same positive attributes as  canines, those people born in the Year of the Dog are known to be trustworthy, protective, courageous and driven by a sense of duty and justice.

India - Canada Joint Issue - Diwali stamp

India Post and Canada Post jointly issued stamp on Diwali on 21 September 2017. Canada Post issued a souvenir sheet having one Indian and other Canadian stamp.

Canada - India Joint Issue 

This souvenir sheet issued by Canada Post contains two stamps one from Canada and other from India.

Stamp Booklet by Canada Post

Eid stamp from Canada Post

On 23rd May 2017, Canada Post  issued an Eid stamp that recognizes Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, two of the most important festivals celebrated by Muslims in Canada and worldwide.

Eid al-Fitr 
Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, the month in which Muslims fast from dawn until dusk – one of the most distinctive practices of Islam. Eid al-Fitr, or the Festival of the Breaking of the Fast, falls on the first day of the tenth month of the Islamic calendar, Shawwal (around June 26, 2017, in Canada). The stamp is being issued a month ahead of Eid al-Fitr. On the day of Eid, many Muslims congregate in mosques or in open spaces, where they will perform a special ritual prayer prescribed for Eid. People dress in their finest clothes, decorate their homes with lights, give treats to children, and visit with friends and family.

Eid al-Adha
With Eid al-Adha, or the Festival of Sacrifice, Muslims commemorate Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God. The festival also marks the end of the annual Hajj pilgrimage to the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest site in Islam. It falls on the tenth day of the twelfth month of the Islamic calendar, Dhul Hijjah (around September 2, 2017, depending on when the new moon is seen). 
Like Eid al-Fitr, this celebration can include special ritual prayers, lavish meals, and visits with friends and family. It also includes gift-giving and acts of charity.

Design incorporates Islamic elements
The Arabic script on the stamp reads “Eid Mubarak,” which translates to “Have a happy Eid” or “Have a blessed Eid.” It appears under a pointed arch, which symbolizes the division between sacred and worldly space in Muslim culture. The stamp’s deep blues and warm gold and yellows, as well as its geometric pattern, are seen in Islamic architecture. The new moon atop the stamp signifies the start of Eid.

Stamp on Marriage equality by Canada Post

Date of Issue : 9 May 2017

Canada Post unveiled a stamp commemorating the 2005 passage of the Civil Marriage Act, which made marriage equality the law throughout Canada. Grassroots activists, government officials and community members attended the unveiling, catching the first glimpse of the new stamp, which features the iconic rainbow symbol. The unveiling was held at and in partnership with The 519, a City of Toronto agency committed to the health, happiness and full participation of LGBTQ communities.

The marriage equality stamp is the fourth in a set of 10 that Canada Post is issuing to celebrate Canada’s 150th year since Confederation.

Marriage equality debate takes centre stage

In early 2001, the battle for the right to marry took centre stage, after Reverend Brent Hawkes married two same-sex couples in a ceremony in Toronto. When the City refused to issue marriage licenses for these unions, it set off a series of heated court battles and public debate. The legal challenges culminated on June 10, 2003, when the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a lower court ruling that prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying was a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Within hours of the decision, Michael Leshner and Michael Stark were married in Toronto, the first same-sex couple to wed after the legislation.

Similar court battles were also taking place in provinces across the country, and more provincial courts issued rulings legalizing marriage equality: B.C. in July 2003, followed by Quebec, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia in 2004. Finally, on July 20, 2005, the government of Canada passed the federal legislation that legalized marriage equality across the country, making Canada the fourth country in the world and the first outside of Europe to grant same-sex couples the right to marry the one they loved.

Today, with support continuing to grow across the globe, more than 20 countries have legalized same‑sex marriage on the national level. 

New Christmas stamps from Canada

Canada Post issued four beautiful Christmas stamps .Filled with billowy snowflakes in a navy blue sky, Rolf Harder’s images appear to be taken from an enchanted forest, occupied only by Santa Claus, a single Christmas tree and a dove carrying an olive branch.

The fourth stamp depicts the Virgin and Child, which was painted around 1460 by a highly esteemed painter from Florence, Italy, known only as the Master of the Castello Nativity. This rare painting uses gold and tempera, a pigment common until the advent of oil paint, whose many layers create intense colours.

Birds of Canada..

Here is a beautiful set of stamps issued by  Canada Post for the bird lovers featuring five birds of Canada. Clockwise from upper left, the five featured birds are the Rock Ptarmigan (Nunavut), the Great Horned Owl (Alberta), the Atlantic Puffin (Newfoundland and Labrador), the Sharp-tailed Grouse (Saskatchewan) and the Common Raven (Yukon). Part of each bird‘s wings and/or body extends beyond the border of each stamp, creating a sense of movement.

• Atlantic puffin (Newfoundland and Labrador) – Sometimes called a sea parrot for its brightly coloured beak that turns grey after the breeding season, the puffin spends most of its life at sea. It can dive as deep as 60 metres to catch fish and small crustaceans. Its main breeding grounds in Canada are along the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador and eastern Quebec.
• Common raven (Yukon) – The raven holds a special place in the heritage of some First Nations and often takes the role of the trickster. Ravens breed across most of the northern hemisphere but are less common in human-inhabited areas than their smaller cousin, the American crow.
• Great horned owl (Alberta) – The owl is named for its ear-like “horns,” which are actually just tufts of feathers. It has a deep hooting voice and a yellow-eyed stare, and can swivel its head more than 180 degrees to compensate for eyes that don't move in their sockets. Vise-like talons allow it to prey on animals as large as skunks and rabbits. The night hunter was selected as the province's official bird in a vote by schoolchildren.
• Rock ptarmigan (Nunavut) – Called aqiggiq in Inuktut, the rock ptarmigan appears in the art, folklore and diet of indigenous peoples. Well adapted to the cold climate, it lives in the Arctic year-round and is camouflaged by white winter plumage and mottled brown summer plumage. Its feet are covered with feathers to retain warmth and to help it walk on the snow's surface.
• Sharp-tailed grouse (Saskatchewan) – A common sight on the prairies and grasslands, the non-migratory sharp-tailed grouse survives harsh winters and summer droughts. In the spring breeding season, the birds gather on ancestral mating grounds, where the males dance, stamping their feet and displaying their feathers and yellow combs to impress the females.

Value of reading, play and imagination in childhood

 

“ The power of storytelling and the freedom to pretend ”

 

Date of Issue : 28 September 2015

Here is a new stamp from Canada Post. The design of the stamp is just beautiful and it  is fostering imagination and the power of storytelling. The design of the stamp is very thoughtful and to me it is one of the best designs of  stamps issued so far on children related themes all over the world.

Sitting cozily on cushions inside an imaginary fort made of bed sheets, a young girl reads from a book as her little brother listens intently to the tale, clutching his teddy bear tight. The image, by Montreal illustrator Marie-Eve Tremblay, depicts the two youngsters establishing a personal connection and demonstrating a respect for reading. It highlights the value of imagination in the lives of children. As Tremblay says, it’s about “the joy of having your own secret place for that moment.”

Marie-Eve Tremblay‘s imaginative artwork for Canada’s new permanent-rate semi postal stamp under covers the value of reading, play and imagination in childhood. Funds raised from stamp sales help support a wide array of programs to benefit children and youth across Canada.

The foundation’s vision “is to ensure every child in Canada is happy, healthy and surrounded by a community that supports and cares for them”. Canada Post first issued semi postal stamps in 1974-76 to help fund the 21st Olympic Games in Montreal, Quebec.

Earlier in 2015, the Foundation handed almost $1.2 million to 107 community initiatives, including a summer camp for young people with special needs, teen mental-health support and crisis counselling, specialized equipment for children with severe disabilities, homework help, playgrounds, and breakfast and literacy programs.

This year’s stamp, designed by Context Creative’s Lionel Gadoury and illustrated by Marie-Eve Tremblay, depicts the power of storytelling and the freedom to pretend. In an imaginary tent formed by a bed sheet, one youngster reads to another, demonstrating that a rich imagination should be part of every child’s life.

Canada Post describes this design as depicting “the power of storytelling and the freedom to pretend”. In a secret cave built of bed sheets, clothes pins and imagination, a sister reads a bedtime story to her younger brother, who clutches his teddy bear with wide-eyed delight at the tale.

Ghost stories on stamps

 

Ghostly tales from Canada in second Haunted Canada stamp issue

Date of Issue : 14 September 2015

Haunting houses, dreadful ghosts and skeletons, mystic fog… All these frightful things were depicted on a second set of stamps featuring popular Canadian ghost stories.

This year’s set issued by Canada Post highlights stories about Vancouver’s Gastown – believed to have the most haunted history of any other neighbourhood in Canada; the rumbling ghostly ox cart that panicked the soldiers of the Red River Valley’s Lower Fort Garry, in Manitoba; Marie-Josephte Corriveau, whose soul is said to wander the dark roads and forests near Lévis, Quebec; the Caribou Hotel in Carcross, Yukon, rumoured to be haunted by its past innkeeper; and the Grey Lady who wanders the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site searching for her lost love.

“There is nothing more fun, yet unsettling, as ghost stories, and we have a history filled with these memorable tales. Our hope is that Canadians from coast to coast can continue to discover and pass on these stories, which are sure to give a few spine-tingling chills”, says Jim Phillips, Director of Stamp Services, Canada Post. “Be prepared for a little scare with these legendary local stories and let your creativity take over”, says Joel Sutherland, author of the children’s series of Haunted Canada books and adviser to the stamp series. “The series makes for huddling close to the campfire – or a scary sleepover”.

Gastown, Vancouver, B.C. – haunted history : Legend has it the Waterfront Station and several bars and restaurants in the neighbourhood are all haunted – making it home to more dearly departed but persistently present spirits than any neighbourhood in Canada.

Red River Valley, Man. – the ox cart : In 1903, soldiers at the Red River Valley’s Fort Garry claimed to have seen phantoms driving a cart pulled by a team of oxen pass through their post at night.

Lévis, Que. – Marie-Josephte Corriveau : In 1763, she was executed on charges of murder. Her soul was said to walk the road at night, approaching travelers and grabbing anyone passing by with her claw-like hands as she opened her blood-red eyes.

Carcross, Yukon – Caribou Hotel : Built in the town of Bennett in 1898 at the start of the Klondike Gold Rush, the hotel is rumoured to be haunted by late hotel co-owner Bessie Gideon’s ghost. She was supposedly buried in Carcross but a cemetery survey did not locate her grave.

Halifax, N.S. – the Grey Lady : Legend has it that the spirit of the “Grey Lady” wanders the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site, mourning her lost love, strolling the second floor at night, smelling of roses and wearing a 19th-century dress.

 

Haunted Canada – First Issue

The first series of haunted canada stamps was issued on 13 June 2014.

Date of Issue 13 June 2014

Dinosaur Provincial Park stamp reissued by Canada Post

 

Canada Post has reissued a stamp showcasing Dinosaur Provincial Park in southeast Alberta after the original error version that depicted the image from a different part of the province.

And Brad Tucker, executive director of Canadian Badlands Tourism, couldn’t be happier with the photo used in the reprint. “One of my pictures is on a stamp”, Tucker said excitedly. “I’m not saying this because it’s my image, but I think it’s a good choice”.

He said the photograph, taken about four years ago in an area known as Valley of the Moon, features the unmistakable badlands of Dinosaur Provincial Park, distinct from the badlands in Drumheller or Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park. It was one of the many photos he snapped for the province when he worked for the park.

“I’m impressed with how they (Canada Post) handled this. Boy, they turned it around quickly”, he added. The original stamp was released in early July as part of Canada Post’s latest collection meant to celebrate the country’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and also featured Watert on-Glacier International Peace Park and Wood Buffalo National Park.

It didn’t take long for Alberta government and local tourism officials to notice that the photo of the hoodoos ‒ distinct columns of sandstone rock ‒ adorning the stamp was actually taken in East Coulee near Drumheller, about an hour-and-a-half drive northwest of the famous park.

Tucker said many people get confused because Drum heller, home of the Royal Tyrrell Museum, houses many of the fossils discovered in the park.

The postal service quickly apologized for the flub, removed the stamp from its online store and its 6,300 post offices, and reached out to parks officials for assistance in selecting a new image for the reissue. The new stamp was released Friday.

“We learned from this experience and overall we take great pride in our stamp program”, Anick Losier, Canada Post spokeswoman. “It’s world renowned so we don’t take these mistakes lightly. This is why we put a lot of effort into correcting mistakes and making sure our processes are going to be robust”.

Tim Chamberlin, Alberta Parks spokesman, said department staff supplied Canada Post with about five different photos to choose from.

“It’s a wonderful image. It’s a great depiction of one of the unique attributes that define Dinosaur Provincial Park”, Chamberlin said of the new stamp.

“We’re very pleased that Canada Post has included Alberta parks in their series. Obviously the image has the potential to reach a global audience and that could spark an interest and visits to our province and the park, which is obviously a good thing”.

Tucker said the image mix-up is a good opportunity to draw attention to Dinosaur Provincial Park and to Drumheller, adding “both are amazing places to visit”.

Sourced by www.calgaryherald.com

Error on recent Canada Post stamp

 

 

Canada Post is recalling all stamps commemorating Dinosaur Provincial Park, issued to post offices last week, because the hoodoos on the stamp don’t exist there but are actually from east of Drumheller, Alberta. However, the image is labelled as Alberta’s Dinosaur Provincial Park, which is almost two hours away.

Spokeswoman Anick Losier says the stamps, which were part of a pack of five, were issued on the 3d July and meant to celebrate the country’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Almost immediately, Canada Post received feedback that it had made a mistake and took full responsibility for the flub on the 6^th July.

“We contacted the mayor of Drumheller, Alberta Parks as well as the Canadian Badlands Tourism to apologize”, Losier says.

Once the mistake was confirmed, the stamps were pulled from Canada Post’s website and mail orders. The agency is currently recalling the product from about 6,000 post offices across the country. Once the incorrect stamps are collected, they will be destroyed.

Canada Post buys images from photographers or hires them to shoot a series. It also works with a stamp advisory committee and organizations like Parks Canada to source the right photos.

“Somehow in the process we missed the piece that led to this unfortunate mistake”, Loiser says. “That part of the process we’ve reviewed and have fixed to make sure this doesn’t happen again”.

Canada Post is currently working with Parks Canada and Dinosaur Provincial Park to reissue the stamp as soon as possible.

Mistakes on postage stamps are rare but not completely unheard of.Emil Hakim who runs the retail shop Century Stamps and Coins in Mississauga says the value of an erroneous stamp depends on how many are snapped up by private collectors.

“If less than 100,000 get in private hands, the rarity would go up”, he says. “You’re looking for something that’s going to be sought after. The value will decrease if there’s more issued”.

The market sets the price after about a year, when it’s established exactly how many of the stamps were bought.

Hakim says in 1995, a stamp was issued as part of a migrated wildlife set, which featured the word “fawn” without the “f”. Since a high number of those were released, the corrected version is worth more than the wrong one. Over 4.5 million were released, and when the mistake was discovered, 800,000 were corrected and put back into circulation.

Another factor that determines the market value is how many were actually placed on letters and mailed, says John Sheffield, executive director of the Canadian Stamp Dealers’ Association.

“My hunch is the market value will not be as great as some other printing errors that have happened in the past”, he says. “It could take years for the number in circulation to be known and a value to be determined”.

He says it’s now known that there were only 400 copies of the 1959 St. Lawrence Seaway five-cent stamp with the centre inverted that made it into public hands.

Unused copies of this stamp have a catalogue value of US$10,000 and used ones are US$8,000.

“This Dinosaur Provincial Park ‘flub’ is nowhere near as significant as the Seaway error and the market value will be whatever a collector is prepared to pay”, Sheffield says.Canada Post could not confirm the number of erroneous Dinosaur Park stamps in circulation.

 

Stamps for pet lovers

 

Date of Issue : 5 May 2015

Canadian Post released a special set of stamps dedicated to pets. The stamps were designed by Lara Minja and illustrated by Genevieve Simms with a whimsical and colourful brushstroke-style.

Canadians love their pets – including some 10 million cats, 5.5 million dogs and plenty of rodents, reptiles, birds and fish. Love Your Pet: Responsible Pet Ownership is a colourful new stamp series that offers reminders of the importance of spaying or neutering, regular visits to the veterinarian, proper nutrition, creating comfortable surroundings, and plenty of play, exercise and attention.

 

“Companion animals enrich our lives and bring us joy and happiness on a daily basis.  This stamp issue,  creates  awareness of what it takes to keep pets happy and healthy”.

“These stamps artistically demonstrate some of the important ways that we can ensure that our companion animals receive the physical and emotional care they deserve”, says Barbara Cartwright, Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Federation of Humane Societies.

The animals in the bright, lighthearted artwork all show warmth and express personality in scenes where they are cared for responsibly. It’s a visually appealing and celebratory way of illustrating the pets in our lives, while reminding us about ways of keeping them safe, healthy and happy.

Club News

Book on Meghdoot Post Cards

 

Mr Purushottam Das Heda of Hyderabad has published a book on Meghdoot Post Cards. For the book Please write to Purushottam Das Heda email : pdheda@hotmail.com

Postal address :

Purushottam Das Heda

3-12-12/C, Ganeshnagar Colony
Ramanthapur, HYDERABAD - 500013 (TS)
INDIA
Mobile: 09848089049

Fabric stamp from Canada

 

Date of Issue : 15 February 2015

The 50th anniversary of the flag is marked with Canada’s first cloth stamp.

Canada’s first-ever fabric stamp is being issued to mark the 50th anniversary of the Canadian flag, on Feb. 15, 2015.

The $5 stamp is printed on a specialized satin rayon fabric, applied to a paper backer using adhesives and silicones. The backer is similar to, but thicker, than that used on most self-adhesive stamps. The material is produced by Wausau Coated Products, based in Wisconsin. The design is simple, a large Canadian flag, with the dates 1965-2015 in the lower left corner. The stamp also includes security features which glow when viewed under an ultra-violet light.

The high-value stamp is being issued on a souvenir sheet, and on an uncut press sheet. The press sheet is signed by Joan O’Malley, the person who sewed the first prototype of the Canadian flag.

A total of 1,000 uncut sheets have been printed. There are 300,000 souvenir sheets, which have red tagging. The souvenir sheet stamp design is also used for the official first-day cover, which has an Ottawa cancel dated Feb. 15, 2015, printed in gold ink with a maple leaf design.

: Canadian Stamp News ,  Prakash Modi – Canada

Club News

New pictorial cancellation from Germany

On March 8th a new pictorial cancellation will be issued at 56564 NEUWIED. The cancellation is featuring  a mummy head (head of a mummy) of the Botocuden-Indians . The rest of the Botocudens lives at the state Minas Gerais (BRAZIL). Interested philatelists may please contact: Wolfgang Beyer,

member of the German Collector Group ARGE BRAZIL. Mail: Wolfgang.beyer1@aol.de .

Postage rates: 0,80 Euro AIRMAIL ,2,95 Euro Registered AIRMAIL

 

 

Year of the Ram stamp from Canada

 

Canada Post honors Lunar New Year with a pair of stamps commemorating the Year of the Ram, a time marked by creativity, caring, sensitivity and transforming misfortune into good luck.

The domestic stamp showcases three rams welcoming spring, a popular New Year’s image, especially at the start of the Year of the Ram, which begins on February 19, 2015 and ends February 7, 2016.Souvenir sheet with  internationally denominated stamp was also issued  with this issue.

Club News

New Special Cover

A Special Cover was released yesterday (12-January 2015) at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar during Vibrant Gujarat summit. Cover was released by Shri Rajnath Singh (Hon'ble Minister of Home Affairs).

Courtesy - Gujarat Philately