US Stamps

The United Nations continues Lunar New Year series

Jan 22, 2025, 1 PM
The United Nations Postal Administration celebrates the Year of the Snake Jan. 17 with a pane of 10 stamps and labels. The Year of the Snake will officially begin Jan. 29, 2025, and end Feb. 16, 2026.

By David Hartwig

A pane of 10 stamps issued Jan. 17 by the United Nations Postal Administration celebrates the Year of the Snake in the Chinese lunar calendar.

The stamps are denominated $1.65 for use for the post office at U.N. headquarters in New York City. The denomination meets the United States Postal Service international letter and postcard rates.

The stamps show an intricate design of four colorful snakes winding their way through flowers and one another. “In Chinese culture, the circular connection of head to tail signifies endless continuity,” the UNPA said. A yellow United Nations logo appears in the middle of the four snakes.

The stamp pane is perforated vertically down the middle and presents five stamps on either side of the perforation. Larger sections of the stamp design appear on the selvage to the left and right of the 10 stamps.

English text states “Chinese Lunar Calendar” and “Year of the Snake 2025” next to Chinese calligraphy at both sides of the top of the selvage. Copyright dates and text crediting artist Tiger Pan appear at both sides of the bottom of the pane.

The labels on the pane show the United Nations logo and can be personalized. To do so, customers can visit UNPA stamp shops at the U.N. offices in New York City; Vienna, Austria; or Geneva, Switzerland; or upload their photos to the UNPA website at unstamps.org.

This special event sheet continues a sheet design and format the UNPA began in 2022 for its Lunar New Year stamp series. Chinese artist Tiger Pan (or Pan Hu) designed all three issues in the series since 2022.

The 2022 stamps for the Year of the Tiger (Scott 1290 and 1291) show a tiger walking through a thick patch of flora outlined in gold against a white background. The 2023 stamps for the Year of the Rabbit (Scott 1309 and 1310) show a rabbit imposed over a gold circle surrounded by outlines of decorative shapes.

The 2024 stamps picture a dragon winding its way through flowers, smoke and fire for the Year of the Dragon (Scott 1328 and 1329). The selvage and labels on a pane of a 2018 UNPA stamp (1187) show designs illustrated by Pan and related to the Year of the Dog.

The Year of the Snake runs from Jan. 29, 2025, to Feb. 16, 2026. The snake is the sixth animal sign in the Chinese zodiac cycle, following the dragon and preceding the horse. Other recent Years of the Snake were 2013, 2001, 1989, 1977, 1965, 1953, 1941 and 1929.

According to the website chinesenewyear.net, those born in the Year of the Snake are known for their wisdom, intuition and mystery. “Naturally strategic, they are excellent problem-solvers and skilled communicators,” the website said.

Famous people born in the Year of the Snake include Anne Frank, John F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Buzz Aldrin, Audrey Hepburn, Ella Fitzgerald, Bob Dylan, Dick Cheney, Volodymyr Zelensky, Emmanuel Macron and Taylor Swift.

Cartor Security Printing of France printed the Year of the Snake stamps. The stamps measure 40.6 millimeters by 29.8mm, and the labels are 26.6mm by 29.8mm.

For ordering information for the Year of the Snake stamps and related products, visit the UNPA website; email unpanyinquiries@un.org; or write to UNPA, Box 5900, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10163-5900.

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