KYRGYZSTAN
The new year, according to the Chinese calendar, will be the Year of the White Metal Rat, beginning on January 25, 2020. The rat is the first zodiac animal of the Chinese horoscope, which begins a new 12-year cycle. To mark the occasion, Kyrgyz Express Post issued a minisheet of five stamps and one label. On the sheet borders are the words “Happy New Year!” in Kyrgyz, Russian, English and Chinese.
Though some consider the rat to be a distasteful animal in the Western world, in the East it is an animal ''that symbolizes courage, cunning and the ability to achieve goals by any means.'' The Year of the White Metal Rat is considered by astrologers to be especially successful for people born in that year. Collectors of famous people on stamps might want to add a Year of the Rat stamp to their collections of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Leo Tolstoy, Jules Verne or Winston Churchill, amongst others born in that year. The stamp is available in minisheet format from www.stamps.kg
FALKLAND ISLANDS
Two charitable organizations are the subject of this issue from Falkland Islands. The first of the 78p stamps salutes the Cancer Support & Awareness Trust (CSAT) on its 25th anniversary and depicts Peter Collins, CSAT’s founder and a victim of the disease. While Collins was being treated in Britain, he suggested a charity to help people with their day-to-day tasks under the tagline “a listening ear and a helping hand.” CSAT is the only cancer-support charity within the Islands. Another fantastic local charity which commemorated its 25th anniversary in 2018 is the subject of the second stamp: The Stephen Jaffray Memorial Fund. Stephen passed away in 1992, far from home in Montevideo, but it was his wish to raise money for desperate families to be with their sick relatives in their time of need. The stamps were issued on December 6, 2019, and may be found online at www.falklandstamps.com.
FINLAND
This winter, Finland issued a single non-denominational stamp in sheets of 10, “suitable for any of your winter greetings.” The artwork is by Virpi Pekkala, who is responsible for a number of Finnish Christmas stamps. The domestic rate stamp features a variety of snowflakes on a shiny silvery-blue background depicting a winter wonderland. The stamp was released on November 6, 2019, and can be found at verkkokauppa.posti.fi.
New worldwide stamps are presented for information and are not necessarily shown at the correct scale. The quality of images available at the time of release varies widely and we resize to achieve the best possible reproduction.