U.S. #2876
1994 29¢ Year of the Boar
Chinese New Year

• 3rd stamp in Chinese New Year Series
• Final stamp of 1994
• Become obsolete after just two days, when the first-class rate was raised to 32¢ on January 1, 1995

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Series:  Chinese New Year
Value:  29¢, rat...  more

U.S. #2876
1994 29¢ Year of the Boar
Chinese New Year

• 3rd stamp in Chinese New Year Series
• Final stamp of 1994
• Become obsolete after just two days, when the first-class rate was raised to 32¢ on January 1, 1995

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Series:  Chinese New Year
Value:  29¢, rate for first-class mail
First Day of Issue:  December 30, 1994
First Day City:  Sacramento, California
Quantity Issued:  80,000,000
Printed by:  Stamp Venturers
Printing Method:  Photogravure
Format:  Panes of 20 in sheets of 180
Perforations:  11.2 x 11.1

Why the stamp was issued:  The Year of the Boar stamp was issued for use on New Year’s greetings. It also commemorated the Chinese New Year of the Boat, 4693, which began January 31, 1995.

About the stamp design:  The stamp features a colorful boar (pig) against a maroon background. It reflects cut paper designs seen in Chinese art. The New Year stamp was issued in anticipation of the Year of the Boar in the Chinese Zodiac. The artwork displays the talent of Chinese-American artist, Clarence Lee. 

Special design details:  In addition to the Happy New Year greeting, the stamp also has two characters written in Kanji, a language adapted by the Japanese from Chinese. It is a language that can be read by people of many Asian groups.

First Day City:  Sacramento, California ­– at Confucius Hall

Unusual facts about this stamp:  This stamp had the shortest term of use without the need for additional postage of any US stamp.  It’s First Day ceremony was on December 30, 1994.  It wasn’t available nationwide until the following day.  And on January 1, 1995, the first-class rate rose to 32¢ meaning an additional 3¢ postage would need to be added to use this stamp.  The stamp had been designed before the rate increase was approved on December 12. 

This stamp also differed from the two earlier Chinese New Year stamps with a lack of selvage text explaining the lunar calendar.  Those stamps received complaints about inaccuracies, so the information was left off the Year of the Boar sheet.

About the Chinese New Year Series:  The Chinese New Year Series was in part inspired by repeated requests for stamps to honor additional holidays – New Year’s, Easter, the Fourth of July, and Thanksgiving.  There had also been calls for stamps honoring the signs of the Zodiac.  And there had been several groups calling for stamps to recognize the contributions of Asian Americans, while the USPS wanted to explore topics to appeal to younger Asian American collectors.

The USPS issued its first Chinese New Year stamp in 1992, commemorating the Year of the Rooster.  It proved extremely popular – many post offices sold out in days and the stamp was in high demand in Asia.  Initially, the USPS didn’t have plans to produce more Lunar New Year stamps.  But based on the popularity of the Rooster stamp, they knew a series would be popular and continued the series over the next 12 years, with the final stamp issued in 2004.  The USPS went on to produce two additional series beginning in 2008 and 2019.

History the stamp represents:  New Year is the most important traditional Chinese holiday.  The celebration is commonly called “Lunar New Year” because the Chinese calendar is based on phases of the moon.  Each year in the 12-year cycle has an animal from the Chinese zodiac associated with it.

According to legend, the animals of the Chinese zodiac were the first 12 to finish a race held by the Jade Emperor.  The race was across a wide river, so the rat and cat (who were poor swimmers) convinced the ox into carrying them on his back.  However, the rat tricked the cat and pushed him off the ox’s back and into the river.

When the ox reached the opposite bank, the rat jumped down and crossed the finish line, becoming the first animal of the zodiac.  The cat was swept away by the river and never finished.  It’s said this is why cats always chase rats.  Each animal finished the race in a different way, depending on his or her character traits.  This tale inspired the idea of people born in a particular year sharing the traits of that year’s zodiac animal.

After the ox crossed, the tiger was close behind.  It ran a good race but was slowed by the river’s current sending it off-course.  The rabbit grew tired crossing the river, but jumped on a floating log, finishing fourth.  Just behind the rabbit was the dragon (the only mythical creature in the group), which abandoned the race early on to put out a fire nearby.  When it returned to the race, it saw the rabbit struggling to finish and used its breath to help the rabbit across the finish line before finishing fifth itself.

The horse was close behind the dragon and expected to finish sixth, only to realize that the snake had wrapped itself around its leg.   As the horse neared the finish line, the snake uncoiled itself and scared the horse, allowing the snake to finish six and the horse seventh.  The sheep, monkey, and rooster worked together to cross the river on a small raft.  Once they reached the shore, they dashed to the finish line, with the sheep arriving first, followed by the monkey and then the rooster.  Meanwhile, the playful dog had spent most of the race splashing about in the water, but eventually crossed in 11th place.  As for the pig, it got hungry during the race and stopped for food.  It then got tired and took a nap.  The Emperor nearly gave up, but the pig eventually crossed the finish line to become the 12th animal in the zodiac.