Updated February 19th: A USPS photo from the first day ceremony:Left to Right: Linda Thomas, Distribution Supervisor, SFP&DC (National Anthem), Ken Lee, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Organization of Chinese Americans, Claudine Cheng, Past National President, Organization of Chinese Americans, Kam Mak, Stamp artist for the second Lunar New Year stamp series, The Honorable Edwin M. Lee, Mayor, City and County of San Francisco, Raj Sanghera, Postmaster, San Francisco, Eddie Au, President, Supervisory Board, Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Song Ning Ma, Presiding President, Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association and Debbie Brady, Manager of Marketing, San Francisco District.

Updated January 23rd: Stamp artist Kam Mak will attend the first-day ceremony, which will be held at 11 a.m. at the Chinese Cultural Center in San Francisco. Katherine Tobin of CSAC will also attend, and the dedicating official is acting district manager Noemi Luna.

Lunar New Year
The first issue of the year will be Lunar New Year, the Ram. Again, a design by Kam Mak, of a candy tray or “tray of togetherness” (“chuen-hop”). The tray is filled with dried fruits, candies, and other treats to provide a sweet beginning to the New Year.

The cut-paper icon of a ram from the previous series by Clarence Lee, plus Chinese characters in the grass-style of calligraphy by the late Lau Bun. This is the eight of the 12-stamp series. Issue date and city are not yet locked in, but it will be issued in January. The Year of the Ram begins on February 19th. The first day city will be San Francisco, on February 7th. [updated December 23rd]

Digital Color Postmark (better version added January 22nd): This postmark measures 3.00″x1.51″. The B&W postmark is the standard four-bar cancel.

From the Postal Bulletin:

On February 7, 2015, in San Francisco, CA, the U.S. Postal Service® will issue the Lunar New Year: Year of the Ram First-Class Mail® stamp (Forever® priced at 49-cents) in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 12 stamps (Item 588900).

The stamp will go on sale nationwide February 7, 2015.

The Year of the Ram stamp is the eighth of twelve stamps in the Celebrating Lunar New Year series. The Year of the Ram begins on February 19, 2015, and ends on February 7, 2016. The stamp art depicts a wooden candy tray known as a chuen-hop or Tray of Togetherness. The tray is filled with dried fruits, candies, and other treats to provide a sweet beginning to the new year. Artist Kam Mak created this original painting. Art director and stamp designer Ethel Kessler incorporated elements from the previous series of Lunar New Year stamps to create continuity between the series.

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office, at The Postal Store® website at http://www.usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

Lunar New Year: Year of the Ram Stamp
Attention: Station Manager

Chinatown Station
867 Stockton Street
San Francisco, CA 94108-9998

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. For more than 50, customers have to pay five cents each. All orders must be postmarked by April 8, 2015.

There are eleven philatelic products for this stamp issue.

• 588906, Press Sheet with Die cut, $70.56, (print quantity 500).
• 588908, Press Sheet without Die cut, $70.56 (print quantity 500).
• 588910 Digital Color Postmark Keepsake (2 SS, 1 DCP), $13.95.
• 588916 First-Day Cover, $0.93.
• 588918 First-Day Cover (Full Pane), $8.38.
• 588919 First-Day Cover Cancelled Full Pane, $8.38.
• 588921 Digital Color Postmark, $1.64.
• 588924 Framed Art, $39.95.
• 588930 Ceremony Program, $6.95.
• 588931 Stamp Deck Card, $0.95.
• 588932 Stamp Deck Card with Digital Color Postmark, $1.99.

Technical Specifications:

Issue: Lunar New Year: Year of the Ram Stamp
Item Number: 588900
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Souvenir Sheet of 12 (1 design)
Series: Celebrating Lunar New Year
Issue Date & City: February 7, 2015, San Francisco, CA
Designer: Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
Art Director: Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
Typographer: Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
Artist: Kam Mak, Brooklyn, NY
Modeler: Donald Woo
Manufacturing Process: Offset, Microprint
Printer: Banknote Corporation of America/SSP
Printed at: Browns Summit, NC
Press Type: Alprinta 74
Stamps per Pane: 12
Print Quantity: 17,600,400 stamps
Paper Type: Phosphor Tagged, Overall
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive adhesive
Processed at: Banknote Corporation of America, Browns Summit SC
Colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black, PMS872 Gold
Stamp Orientation: Horizontal
Image Area (w x h): 1.42 x 0.84 in/36.07 x 21.34 mm
Overall Size (w x h): 1.56 x 0.98 in/39.62 x 24.89 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): 7.24 x 5.92 in/183.90 x 150.36 mm
Press Sheets Size (w x h): 24.05 x 21.87 in/611.00 x 555.50 mm
Plate Size: 144 stamps per revolution
Plate Numbers: N/A
Marginal Markings: Front: Header: “CELEBRATING LUNAR NEW YEAR”
Back: © 2014 USPS • USPS logo • Barcode (588900) at bottom of pane • Promotional text • Lunar New Year Bio