Sunday Stamps 006: Summer Olympics

Sunday Stamps are meant for Sundays but I’m already putting it up today (Saturday)! So what comes to my mind when I hear the word “summer”? Instantly, images of sun, sand, and the sea fills my head when summer is being talked about.

I try to veer from that usual response with my entry for this week. My stamps are devoted to the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympic Games from Estonia and Italy, respectively.

 

This stamp from Estonia was issued in 2004 to commemorate not only the Summer Olympics held in Athens, Greece, but also to dedicate to their athletes who were competing under the Estonian flag for the first time. Prior to their independence from the Soviet Union, Estonian athletes were all part of the Soviet Union team.

The Estonian Olympic Committee resumed its activity in 1989 and since that time Estonian sportsmen have competed under their own flag at the Games. In all, Estonian sportsmen have won 22 gold, 18 silver and 25 bronze medals at the Games. (Source)

 

This stamp is one of the two-stamps issued by the Italian Post under the Lo Sport Italiano (Italian sports) series dedicated to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games with a denomination of € 0.85 (left) and €0.60. T

he € 0.85   features a disc framed in by a Greek border on the left and a floral border on the right. On the left-hand side of the disc, there are some figures of athletes similar to those designed on Ancient Greek ceramics; on the right-hand side there are some Asian athletes. The five Olympic rings are pictured in the centre of the disc.

The words “GIOCHI OLIMPICI-PECHINO 2008” (BEIJING 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES), “ITALIA”, and the denomination “€ 0,85” complete the stamp.

 (Source)
 

I get so excited when Olympics are staged, whether it  be a summer or winter games. It’s just a great celebration for all of the world. I know there are controversies that rock the Olympics Committee but still, it’s one of the most highly-anticipated event in the whole wide world! So many years have already passed and yet the excitement and grandeur of the Olympic Games have remained unrivaled.  I wonder how many of the participants share the same sentiment with me.

Sunday Stamps 005: Thanksgiving day parade

In 2009, the USPS issued four commemorative stamps featuring the iconic scenes of one of the merriest holiday celebrations in the US… the Thanksgiving Day Parade. Out of the four se-tenant stamps on a strip, I only have two:

 

Here is the complete strip for your reference:

 

Some of the scenes of this happy celebration are depicted on the strip above: a lively marching band, large inflated balloons of favourite animals and popular pop culture characters, and crowds of delighted onlookers. (Source)

I have never been to the US yet to witness this extravagant affair but I am a great admirer of parades and floats. Having said that, I think the stamp design is fantastic as it perfectly captures the rich and colourful Thanksgiving Day Parade (at least, the one I often see on TV)and it gives us a bit of a glimpse of the American culture.

The stamp, designed by Paul Rogers, based the stamp design on advertising and poster art from the mid-century. He then used the digital medium and techniques to create this very colourful images on stamps. Fantastic!

Sunday Stamps 004: I Love You!/Mahal Kita!

I have several choices for this week but then, today, in the Philippines we are celebrating our country’s 113th anniversary of Independence. So it’s a no-brainer, really, that I chose to post stamps from the Philippines, the land of my birth.

I find the design a bit cheesy – but hey – respect, respect. lol.

The stamp on the left shows hearts coming out of an envelope with “I Love You” written on it. On the right, the stamp shows roses and heart and the words “Mahal Kita”, the Tagalog phrase for “I Love You”. Although it is issued in se-tenant pair, the sheet composition  shows alternate placing of each design in each row.

Valentine’s Day is one of the most popular celebrations in the Philippines, next to Christmas, and highly-commercialised, if I may say so.

Anyhoo, before I end this post…

Isang mainit na pagbati sa lahat ng mamamayan ng Pilipinas, saan man kayo naroroon, sa ika-113 taon ng ating Kalayaan. Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! Mabuhay tayong lahat!

Warm greetings to my fellow countrymen, wherever you may be, on the 113th anniversary of our Independence. Long live the Philippines! Godspeed to us all!

***

Special thanks goes out to GingMaganda, my sister at the Miss Igorota Sisterhood, for the beautiful postcard and stamps.

Cyprus’s Refugee Fund Tax stamp

The following stamps were affixed in this Protaras postcard. 

 
The stamp on the right is a part of the 5-set definitive stamps issued in 1994, showing the traditional costumes of Cyprus. The one on the left is the current issue of what the Cyprus Postal Service Office calls a Refugee Fund Tax Stamp.

Every letter, postcard and parcel has to have an additional refugee postage stamp on it (cost as at January 2011 is 2 cents) in order for it to enter the sending process. The proceeds of the refugee stamps go to the refugee fund, i.e. for the Greek Cypriots who became refugees from their homes in the north of Cyprus after the invasion in 1974. (Source)

Sunday Stamps 003: Die Blüten von Österreich

I chose these beautiful flower stamps from Österreich for this week’s Sunday Stamps.

Both stamps above are standard issues. The one on the left features the Christmas rose, named such because it blooms in Austria as early as Christmas, but usually between January to April.

The stamp on the right shows the Guelder rose. It got its German name, schneeball, meaning snowball, because its blossoms resemble snowballs. It doesn’t show much in the scan but it does look like a snowball.Sometimes, it is also called as Herzbeer (Heart berry) for its heart-shaped seeds.The fruit is spherical and red when ripe, but poisonous when raw. (Austrian Post)