What Cultural Elements Are Represented in the Lunar New Year Stamps (Part I)

Happy New Lunar Year! What’s represented in the New Lunar Year 2020–2031 stamps: Year of the Rat, Ox, Tiger, and beyond.

2022: The Year of the Tiger.

The Tiger is known as the king of all beasts in China. The zodiac sign Tiger is a symbol of strength, exorcising evils, and braveness. Many Chinese kids wear hats or shoes with a tiger image for good luck.

The most relevant years of the Tiger include 2022, 2010, 1998, 1986, 1974, 1962, 1950, and 1938.

If you were born in one of the above calendar years, your Chinese zodiac sign is probably the Tiger, and in China you would be known as a Tiger. However, the Chinese zodiac year is usually said to start from Lunar New Year, which ranges from late January to mid-February. Therefore, if you were born in January or February in one of the above years, you might be a Tiger, or possibly an Ox.

Additionally, if you were born in January/February in one of the years immediately following those above (2011, 1999, 1987, 1978, etc.), then you may be a Tiger or a Rabbit.

This year, many people around the world will celebrate the Lunar New Year on February 1, 2022, no matter what year they were born.

The US Postal Service released a Year of the Tiger stamp.

On January 20, the US Postal Service released a forever stamp to celebrate the Year of the Tiger that starts on February 1, 2022, and ends on January 21, 2023. It is the third in the 2020–2031 Lunar New Year stamps series. The first series started with the Year of the Rooster in 1993. The second with the Year of the Rat in 2008. Each series features the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep (ram/goat), monkey, rooster, dog, and pig (boar).

This article discusses the cultural elements represented in the graphic arts of the 2020–2031 series and suggests information resources about the Lunar New Year festivities, the graphic designer, and stamp collection tips.

Part II will focus on the first (1993–2004) and second (2008–2019) series.

The 2020–2031 stamps represent multiple Lunar New Year cultural elements.

The USPS commissioned 3-dimensional art masks for the first three stamps in the 2020–2031 Lunar New Year series. It started with the rat (2020) and continued with the ox (2021) and the tiger (2022). USPS art director Antonio Alcalá designed the three stamps with original arts by Camille Chew.

The first three stamps represent cultural elements from:

1. Chinese folklore and rituals masks used in lion and dragon dances
2. Cut-paper folk art associated with the New Year festivities
3. The animal traits in the Chinese zodiac calendar
4. The lucky color of the animal
5. Flowers used during the New Year festivities
6. Asian textiles patterns
7. References to celestial themes of the Chinese zodiac.

The 2020 mask featured the art of a graduate student in printmaking.

The USPS commissioned the art of the first stamp in the series to the Filipina-American Camille Chew. She was a 28-year-old Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) graduate student in printmaking from Ithaca, New York.

The 2020 Year of the Rat depicted a bright blue image of Camille’s mask. “It’s whimsical. It’s fresh. It’s cute,” said Amy Gibbs, spokeswoman for the Postal Service, when the stamp was released. “And let me tell you, it takes a fine artist to make a rat look cute. I’m from Brooklyn.”

The Year of the Rat began Jan. 25, 2020, and ended Feb. 11, 2021. The rat is the first of the 12 zodiac animal signs associated with the Chinese lunar calendar. Those born during the Year of the Rat may be seen as very clever, self-aware and highly social.

The USPS announced the 2020 stamp saying,

With blue as the predominant color — said to be one of the lucky colors for individuals born during the Year of the Rat — the rat mask in the stamp design incorporates elements with symbolic meaning. Several of the patterns were created with the style of Asian textiles and the circle in the center of the rat’s head represents the new moon on which the Lunar New Year begins. A pop of the very lucky color red ties the design in with other common celebratory decorations.

Camille’s mask-making skills are attributed to her long-time interest in mythology, fantasy, and the occult. Before the commission, she had created an online presence as the Lord of Masks. According to RISD, “That’s how USPS art director Antonio Alcalá first found her intricate, fanciful masks — on Instagram.”

Camille Chew also created graphic arts for the 2021 and 2022 stamps.

2021: the Year of the Ox (February 12, 2021-January 31, 2022).

The USPS made the Year of the Ox stamp available on February 2, 2021.

AsiaTrend described the cultural inspirations of the 2021 stamp, saying,

With pops of the auspicious color red on the horns and face, the ox mask in the stamp design incorporates elements with symbolic meaning. Several of the patterns were created with the style of Asian textiles in mind as well as purple flowers that represent the arrival of spring, which Lunar New Year also signals in Chinese culture. The star in the center of the ox’s head references the celestial themes of the Chinese zodiac.

2022: The Year of the Tiger (February 1, 2022-January 21, 2023)

Linn’s Stamps News, the American weekly magazine for stamp collectors, described the cultural elements of the 2022 stamp saying:

Chew’s tiger mask is rendered in vivid hues of blue, orange and gray. Stylized floral accents in green, yellow and blue dangle from either side of the tiger’s head, and four pairs of sharp teeth give the animal a somewhat fearsome and menacing look.

Calling to mind the elaborately decorated masks used in the dragon or lion dances often performed in Lunar New Year parades, this 3-dimensional mask depicting a tiger is a contemporary take on the long tradition of paper-cut folk art crafts created during this auspicious time of year,” the Postal Service said.

It’s no coincidence that Chew emphasized the colors blue, orange and gray in her tiger mask design because they are considered lucky for those born in the Year of the Tiger. Other symbols of luck for people born during the Year of the Tiger are the numbers 1, 3 and 4; yellow lily and cineraria flowers; and the directions east, north and south.

Stamps sheets show sketches of the twelve animals.

The Lunar New Year stamp sheets show sketches of the twelve animals as sidebars — rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and boar.

Other cultural elements represented in the the Lunar New Year stamps.

The first three stamps in the 2020–2031 series represented the seven cultural elements listed above. Maybe future stamps in the series will include more cultural details that will enrich the understanding around the world of the Lunar New Year celebrations.

Part II of this article will focus on the cultural elements represented in the two previous Lunar New Year series and the background of their graphic artists.

How to celebrate the Luna New Year and resources for more information.

You can learn more about the Lunar New Year traditions reading the Washingtonian article 10 Fun Ways to Celebrate Lunar New Year.

The National Museum of Asian Art has activities including virtual Lunar New Year programs.

You can find more about Camille Chew’s illustration and printmaking work by visiting https://camillechew.com.

Stamp collection is a hobby for many people. If you want to know more about stamp collection, the USPS website provides tips on stamp collecting.