This is the first stamp issued by Jersey Post in 2024 to celebrate the auspicious Year of the Dragon according to the Asian lunar calendar. 
Stamp sample
The stamp, issued on 4 January, features an illustration by Wang Huming (China), and includes a stamp with a face value of £1.65 in a frame of 10 stamps and a commemorative sheet with a stamp worth £4. This is the ninth time Jersey Post has issued a Lunar New Year issue, following the Year of the Cat 2023 (Scott 2559-2560), the Year of the Tiger 2022 (2479-2480), the Year of the Ox 2021 (2375-2376), the Year of the Rat 2020 (2294-2295), the Year of the Pig 2019 (2199-2200), the Year of the Dog 2018 (2106-2107), the Year of the Rooster 2017 (2014-2105) and the Year of the Monkey 2016 (1920-1921). Lunar New Year, also known as Tết Nguyên Đán or Spring Festival, is a tradition celebrated by many East Asian cultures. The festival marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring. It is a time for family reunions, feasting and paying respect to ancestors and usually lasts for 15 days. The date of the Lunar New Year is determined by the lunar calendar, usually falling between January 21 and February 20. In 2024, the Lunar New Year will begin on February 10, 2024. Each year is associated with one of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac and has a cycle of the five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water. The combination of the animal and the zodiac element is said to influence the characteristics of the year and the people born during that time. As the fifth animal in the Chinese zodiac, the dragon is the only mythical creature in the group and is often seen as a symbol of power in China. The dragon is also considered a symbol of good luck and those born in this year are considered lucky and naturally gifted. Huming is deputy chief designer at the China Post Postal Stamp Bureau, who has created the designs for a series of stamps celebrating the Chinese New Year for Jersey Post. Huming’s designs are based on Chinese painting and paper-cutting styles. The image on the £1.65 Jersey Post Lunar New Year 2024 stamp features a golden dragon on a crisp red background. The golden dragon is associated with powerful gods and harvests in Chinese culture, while the colour red symbolises prosperity and joy. The £4 stamp on the commemorative sheet shows a Chinese dragon flying through the clouds. The Eastern Han Dynasty historian and philosopher Wang Fu (c. 82–167 AD) suggested that the distinctive shape of the Chinese dragon was the result of combining the characteristics of various animals, such as the head of a camel, the ears of a bull, the antlers of a deer, the body of a snake, the armored belly of a clam, the feet of a tiger, the claws of an eagle, and the protective scales of a carp. The stamp in the stamp box of 10 measures 36 mm x 36 mm. The stamp on the souvenir sheet measures 60 mm x 60 mm in size and is placed on a sheet of paper measuring 125 mm x 95 mm. The stamps were printed using four-color offset lithography plus metallic gold ink with varnish at the Security Cartor Printing House.
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