Valentine’s Day

Today is Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is a holiday observed on February 14 honouring one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine. It was first established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD, and was later deleted from the General Roman Calendar of saints in 1969 by Pope Paul VI. The day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. By the 15th century, it had evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). Modern Valentine's Day symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.

Valentine's Day is mentioned ruefully by Ophelia in Hamlet (1600–1601):

To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day,
All in the morning betime,
And I a maid at your window,
To be your Valentine.
Then up he rose, and donn'd his clothes,
And dupp'd the chamber-door;
Let in the maid, that out a maid
Never departed more.

—William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act IV, Scene 5

Ella sent the lovely First Day Cover and the booklet shown here. They were issued on 23^rd January 2012. The Finns celebrate this day as “The Friendship Day”. Six symbols for friendship. This year's Valentine's Day stamps are designed by Päivi Unenge, a Finnish illustrator living in Sweden. The miniature booklet called I Heart You! contains six self-adhesive stamps and motifs including little girls, birds, pets, and, naturally, hearts.

The heart symbolizes friendship – be it between friends or lovers. Friendship is vital, and friends carry all joys and sorrows. “I hope that these cheerful and colorful stamps bring joy to people in the middle of the darkest winter”, says artist Päivi Unenge.

IFSDA

50^th Anniversary of the IFSDA

Karoly sent me this interesting FDC commemorating The International Federation of Stamp Dealers Association ‘IFSDA’, which was created by a group of philatelic businessmen to regulate the business and set high standards within the industry. The stamp and cover were issued in the erstwhile Yugoslavia by the PTT on 24.10.2002.

The objectives of IFSDA are the following :

- To promote and maintain a high standard of professional integrity among Philatelic dealers throughout the world.

- To promote the exchange among the member organizations of information and literature likely to be of service to the philatelic trade.

- To try in all ways to reduce the barriers in international Philatelic trade.

- To promote the exchange of information regarding the marketing of stolen, forged, faked and repaired stamps.

- To promote and help promoting stamp collecting throughout the world.

IFSDA cooperates with:-

- with U.P.U., F.I.P., or other organization.

- in the event of theft or other criminal acts against the philatelic trade.

- in International Exhibitions and control the seriousness of the commercial stand holders.

Flora & Fauna

Malaysia issues very pretty stamps. To illustrate this fact I am presenting a few mini sheets of stamps of that country showing a part of its abundant ant wealth of flora and fauna.

On the Wheat Route

Åland has always immortalized ships and boats of all vintages through her pretty stamps, throughout her philatelic history. The Australian marine artist Robert Carter has immortalized Finnish sailing ships during their last trip on the wheat route in 1949. The Four-masted steel barque Pamir is shown departing from the Port Victoria in the Seychelles. The barque Passat, another vessel of Gustaf Erikson's fleet, is seen in the background with her sails reefed and loading. Although the Passat couldn’t sail away until five days later, she rounded Cape Horn before the Pamir. Pamir thus became the last sailing merchant vessels that rounded Cape Horn on 11.7.1949. Both vessels were sold to Germany. Passat served in Travemünde as a school and museum ship. Pamir was one of the famous Flying P-Liner sailing ships of the German shipping company F. Laeisz. She was the last commercial sailing ship to round Cape Horn, in 1949. Outmoded by modern bulk-carriers, and having severe technical difficulties after her shipping consortium was unable to finance much-needed repairs and recruit sufficient capable officers, on 21 September 1957 she was caught in Hurricane Carrie and sank off the Azores, with only six survivors recovered after an extensive rescue effort. Pia gave me this nice cover.

Archbishop Makarios

Further to my post on May 26, 2011., this is a Special cancellation to remember and commemorate the First President of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios. The stamps on this FDC were issued in 1977 and are the same as on the FDC in the post mentioned ibid. This cover was given to me by Merja.

Legacy of the Loom as Asia welcomes the Year of the Dragon 2012

Further to yesterday’s post on the Legacy of the Loom, this the second minisheet on the FDC also issued on 12.1.2012 Pos Malaysia ushered in the Lunar New Year in style with the introduction of a limited edition gold dragon stamp in the form of a Ming Empress robe. This kind of stamp depicts a dragon in a cloud with bats in royal embroidery and was issued on 12.1.2012. Pos Malaysia Stamp and Philately Unit chief Yasmin Ramli said the collection would be a treat for stamp enthusiasts to commemorate the Year of the Dragon. "People can buy it in gold hot stamping prints at RM5 or they can buy the normal prints for RM3," said Yasmin.

Asia has welcomed the Year of the Dragon with a cacophony of fireworks, hoping the mightiest sign in the Chinese zodiac will usher in the wealth and power it represents. From Malaysia to South Korea, millions of people travelled huge distances to reunite with their families for Lunar New Year - the most important holiday of the year for many in Asia - indulging in feasts or watching dragon dances. The dragon is the most favourable and revered sign in the 12-year Chinese zodiac - a symbol of royalty, fortune and power that is also used in other cultures that see in the Lunar New Year, such as in Vietnam.

As such, hospitals across China and in Chinese communities everywhere are bracing for a baby boom as couples try to have a child this year. Nannies in Beijing and neighbouring Tianjin are charging more in 2012, and the beds in the capital's maternity hospital are all booked up until August, according to the official Xinhua news agency. Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong even took advantage of the Dragon to call on the country's residents to boost a stubbornly low birth rate, in an attempt to reduce the government's heavy reliance on foreign workers. "I fervently hope that this year will be a big Dragon Year for babies ... this is critical to preserve a Singapore core in our society," he said in his new year message.

But in Hong Kong, where tens of thousands of pregnant mainlanders come to give birth every year to gain residency rights for their babies, the Dragon may not prove such a boon as it could exacerbate problems such as limited beds and soaring delivery costs. And according to some astrologers and geomancers, the Dragon may bring natural disasters and financial volatility to an already destabilised world. Hong Kong feng shui master Anthony Cheng warned that a "scandalous corruption case" would rock China in the second half of 2012, and also said high-ranking Chinese officials would be forced to step down, thrown behind bars or even die.

But people across Asia disregarded the doomsday predictions over the holiday, preferring to feast and celebrate with their families, and pray at temples or pagodas. Highways in Malaysia, where 25 per cent of the population is ethnic Chinese, were clogged at the weekend while the capital Kuala Lumpur became almost deserted as people travelled home.

The Legacy of the Loom

Pos Malaysia released on 12 January 2012 its first stamp issue for year 2012. The topic of the stamp issue was "Legacy of the Loom" consisting of a set of 5 stamps (in the format of a strip) with denomination 60s each as shown on the sheet. The other stamps issued on the same day were to welcome the Year of the Dragon. I’ll talk about these stamps a little later.