US #5640
2021 Girl’s Skull with Bow – Day of the Dead
- One of four stamps that became the first US postage stamps to honor the Mexican celebration known as the Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos)
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set: Day of the Dead
Value: 58¢ First Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue:&nbs... more
US #5640
2021 Girl’s Skull with Bow – Day of the Dead
- One of four stamps that became the first US postage stamps to honor the Mexican celebration known as the Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos)
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set: Day of the Dead
Value: 58¢ First Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue: September 30, 2021
First Day City: El Paso, Texas
Quantity Issued: 35,000,000
Printed by: Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method: Offset
Format: Panes of 20
Tagging: Phosphor, Overall
Why the stamp was issued: To honor the Day of the Dead celebration and its traditional sugar skull treats, memorial candles, and marigold decorations.
About the stamp design: Pictures a stylized sugar skulls decorated to resemble a young girl. Additional details include lit candles, marigolds, and other colorful details representing popular Day of the Dead traditions. Artwork by Luis Fitch.
First Day City: The First Day of Issue Ceremony was held at the El Paso Museum of Art in El Paso, Texas. Day of the Dead celebrations have become especially popular in Texas and other states closest to the US-Mexico border.
About the Day of the Dead set: The first US stamps to honor this traditional Mexican holiday. All four stamps picture traditional elements of the celebration. They were issued to recognize the importance of the holiday to US citizens with Mexican heritage as well as the Day of the Dead’s growing popularity within the United States. Each design includes colorful artwork by Luis Fitch.
History the stamp represents: Mexico’s Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) is a chance to celebrate, rather than mourn, the deceased. While the celebrations have evolved and may vary from region to region, they’re always full of color and merriment.
According to Mexican tradition, on November 1 and 2, the spirits of the deceased can return to visit their families. Day of the Dead celebrations are held to help guide those spirits to their families. In preparation, families clean and decorate gravesites with ofrendas (altars). These altars include personal trinkets as well as traditional items like sugar skulls.
Families also build altars in their homes to draw spirits there. These altars include food, such as tamales, candied pumpkin, pan de muerto (bread of the dead), and beverages. It’s believed that deceased spirits consume the essence of the food and their families eat the food itself. They also leave out pillows and blankets for deceased to rest after their long journey. People share happy memories and also write short poems known as calaveras literarias (literary skulls). These light-hearted speeches can be about the dead or living.
Modern celebrations now include large parades with people dressed as colorful skeletons dancing through the streets. And they’ve spread out of Mexico to several major US cities.
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