US #3272
1999 Year of the Rabbit – Lunar New Year Series
- The 1st stamp issued in 1999
- Celebrates the Year of the Rabbit
- 7th stamp in the Lunar New Year Series that began in 1992
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Series: Lunar New Year Series
Value: 33¢ First Class Mail Rate
First Day of Issue: ... more
US #3272
1999 Year of the Rabbit – Lunar New Year Series
- The 1st stamp issued in 1999
- Celebrates the Year of the Rabbit
- 7th stamp in the Lunar New Year Series that began in 1992
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Series: Lunar New Year Series
Value: 33¢ First Class Mail Rate
First Day of Issue: January 5, 1999
First Day City: Los Angeles, California
Quantity Issued: 51,000,000
Printed by: Printed for Sennett Security Products (Chantilly, Virginia) by American Packaging (Columbus, Wisconsin)
Printing Method: Photogravure
Format: Panes of 20 (Horizontal 4 across, 5 down)
Perforations: 11.1 (APS rotary perforator)
Tagging: Phosphored Paper
Why the stamp was issued: To continue the Lunar New Year Series with a design celebrating the year of the rabbit
About the stamp design: The design resembles Chinese cut-paper art and pictures a rabbit in orange, yellow, and green, against a bright red background. Artist Clarence Lee is responsible for the cut-paper design while calligrapher Lau Bun created the characters representing “Hare” (upper left) and “year” (beneath it).
First Day City: The First Day of Issue Ceremony was held in the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Plaza in Los Angeles. One of the attendees and speakers was Ambassador An Wenbin, consulate general of the People’s Republic of China.
About the Lunar New Year Series: Beginning in 1992, a Lunar New Year stamp was issued each year, picturing a different animal in the Chinese Zodiac. A total of 12 stamps were issued over the course of 12 years. It was the first US Lunar New Year Series and began a tradition that continues to this day.
History the stamp represents: Xi Nain Kuai Le! Happy New Year! That is what Chinese people all over the world say at the start of every Lunar New Year. In 1999, that year started on February 16th and marked the beginning of the Year of the Rabbit. It was also year 4697 in the Chinese lunar calendar.
In preparation for the celebration, homes are given a thorough cleaning to sweep away any bad luck which may have been experienced in the departing year. As signs of prosperity and good fortune, special flowers and decorations are displayed. For example, peach blossoms are hung in hopes of bringing a long life, and the kumquat fruit represents good luck.
According to legend, those born during the year of the rabbit are kind, sweet, calm, and compassionate. They are popular people who are never ignored and they also provide good company. Because individuals born during these years have a keen sense of good taste and artistic appreciation, their home is always a beautiful one. They are often tasteful dressers as well. A few years of the rabbit are 1987, 1975, 1963, 1951, 1939, and 1927.
People born during the year of the rabbit don’t like to argue and choose, instead, to live quiet, peaceful lives. Well-known personalities born during the year of the rabbit include Walt Whitman (1819), Marie Curie (1867), Albert Einstein (1879), and Frank Sinatra (1915).
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