Updated June 7th: The blue background is correct. Following this new illustration are two advisories regarding ceremonies for this stamp: [press release]
U.S. Postal Service Commemorating the Two Most Important Muslim Festivals With Issuance of New Eid Stamp

What:
The Postal Service observes the two most important festivals – or eids—in the Islamic calendar: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha at the First-Day-of-Issue ceremony for the new Eid stamp.

Like other stamps in the Postal Service’s Holiday Celebrations series, the Eid stamp is being issued as a Forever stamp. Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce price.

Who:

• Derron Bray, USPS Executive Postmaster, Detroit, Michigan
• Samie U. Rehman, USPS Manager, Revenue and Volume Forecasting
• Fouad Khalil, USPS Communication Specialist, Information Technology
• Barbara L. McQuade, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan
• Sam Salamey, Chief Judge, Dearborn’s 19th District Court, Michigan
• Dr. Albert Harp, Retired Educator and Emeritus Trustee Islamic Center of America
• Zena Elayan, Student, Chamberlain College
• Muslim American Youth Academy (MAYA) Students, Islamic Center of America
• Boy Scouts of America, Troop 1139

Where:
Islamic Center of America
19500 Ford Road
Dearborn, MI 48128
(Note: The public should feel free to RSVP at usps.com/eid .)

When: Friday, June 10, 2016; Noon EST

Background:
The U.S. Postal Service® has issued stamps to commemorate these two Islamic holidays since 2001. The first Eid stamp, featuring gold calligraphy on a blue background, was issued on September 1, 2001. A new Eid stamp with gold calligraphy against a reddish background debuted in 2011 and was reissued with a green background in 2013. All Eid issuances to date have featured the work of world-renowned calligrapher Mohamed Zakariya of Arlington, Virginia.

Zakariya created the gold-colored calligraphy on this stamp. The script reads Eidukum mubarak, “May your Eid be bountiful (or blessed).” The calligraphy on previous Eid stamps issued by the U.S. Postal Service has read Eid mubarak, “may the religious holiday be blessed,” with the “your” implied, but Zakariya added the word to this new stamp to give the text more body within a horizontal frame.

In 2016, Eid al-Fitr will be celebrated in North America on July 6 and Eid al-Adha will be celebrated on Sept. 12. In 2017, Eid al-Fitr will be celebrated in North America on June 25 and Eid al-Adha will be celebrated on Sept 1. (These dates, which are based on geographical location and predicted sightings of the moon, are preliminary and may vary slightly as each festival approaches.)

Find more information about the new stamp at usps.com/stamps, facebook.com/uspsstamps or uspsstamps.com

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

[press release]
U.S. Postal Service Commemorating the Two Most Important Muslim Festivals With Issuance of New Eid Stamp

What:
The Postal Service observes the two most important festivals – or eids—in the Islamic calendar: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha with a special dedication ceremony for the new Eid stamp.

Like other stamps in the Postal Service’s Holiday Celebrations series, the Eid stamp is being issued as a Forever stamp. Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce price.

Who:

• Joseph W. Meimann, USPS Louisville, KY, Postmaster
• Donald Lassere, President and Chief Executive Officer, Muhammad Ali Center
• Ambassador Shabazz; Eldest daughter; Malcolm X Shabazz and Dr. Betty Shabazz
• Greg Fischer, Mayor of Louisville
• Attica Scott, State Representative
• Bryan Warren, Director of Globalization, Louisville Metro Government
• Iman Abass, 4th Grade Student, Blue Lick Elementary
• Cozad Terry Taylor, Former Executive Director, Interfaith Paths to Peace
• Montford Point Marine Association
• Humanity Passport Project Greater Community Choir

Where:
Muhammad Ali Center
144 North Sixth Street
Louisville, KY 40202

When: Monday, June 13, 2016; 11:00 a.m. EST

Background:
The U.S. Postal Service® has issued stamps to commemorate these two Islamic holidays since 2001. The first Eid stamp, featuring gold calligraphy on a blue background, was issued on September 1, 2001. A new Eid stamp with gold calligraphy against a reddish background debuted in 2011 and was reissued with a green background in 2013. All Eid issuances to date have featured the work of world-renowned calligrapher Mohamed Zakariya of Arlington, Virginia.

Zakariya created the gold-colored calligraphy on this stamp. The script reads Eidukum mubarak, “May your Eid be bountiful (or blessed).” The calligraphy on previous Eid stamps issued by the U.S. Postal Service has read Eid mubarak, “may the religious holiday be blessed,” with the “your” implied, but Zakariya added the word to this new stamp to give the text more body within a horizontal frame.

In 2016, Eid al-Fitr will be celebrated in North America on July 6 and Eid al-Adha will be celebrated on Sept. 12. In 2017, Eid al-Fitr will be celebrated in North America on June 25 and Eid al-Adha will be celebrated on Sept 1. (These dates, which are based on geographical location and predicted sightings of the moon, are preliminary and may vary slightly as each festival approaches.)

Find more information about the new stamp at usps.com/stamps, facebook.com/uspsstamps or uspsstamps.com

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

Updated May 14th: Here is the Digital Color Postmark first-day cancel for this issue:

This measures 2.6″x1.3″. However, I wouldn’t trust the colors in the postmark, because the illustration shows the stamp background as blue, and other illustrations of the stamp design, as well as the Technical Specifications (below) indicate the color is purple. There is no B&W pictorial first-day postmark for this issue.

Updated May 11th, from the Postal Bulletin:
On June 10, 2016, in Dearborn, MI, the U.S. Postal Service® will issue the EID Greetings stamp (Forever® priced at 47 cents) in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 556200).

The stamp will go on sale nationwide June 10, 2016.

With a design that evokes centuries of tradition, this stamp featuring gold calligraphy and an olive branch against a brilliant blue background commemorates the two most important festivals — or eids — in the Islamic calendar: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. On these days, Muslims wish each other Eidukum mubarak, the phrase shown in Islamic calligraphy on the stamp. Eidukum mubarak translates literally as “May your Eid be bountiful (or blessed),” a phrase that can be applied to both Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Artist and calligrapher Mohamed Zakariya worked with art director Ethel Kessler to create this design.

Initial Supply to Post Offices: Post Offices™ will need to order the EID Greetings stamp through SFS Web. They will be available for ordering prior to the first-day-of-issue.

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 www.usps.com⁄shop, or by calling 800-782-6724. 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:

EID Greetings Stamp
3800 Greenfield Road
Dearborn, MI 48120-9998

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. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by August 10, 2016.

There are five philatelic products for this stamp issue:

• 556206 Press Sheet with Die-cut, $75.20 (print quantity 1,000).
• 556210 Digital Color Postmark Keepsake, $11.95.
• 556216 First-Day Cover, $0.91.
• 556221 Digital Color Postmark, $1.62.
• 556230 Ceremony Program, $6.95.

Technical Specifications:

Issue: EID Greetings
Item Number: 556200
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Pane of 20 (1 design)
Series: N⁄A
Issue Date & City: June 10, 2016, Dearborn, MI 48120
Designer: Mohamed Zakariya, Arlington, VA
Art Director: Ethel Kessler, Bethesda, MD
Typographer: Mohamed Zakariya, Arlington, VA
Calligrapher: Mohamed Zakariya, Arlington, VA
Modeler: Sandra Lane⁄Michelle Finn
Manufacturing Process: Offset, Microprint
Printer: Banknote Corporation of America
Printed at: Browns Summit, NC
Press Type: Alprinta 74
Stamps per Pane: 20
Print Quantity: 15 million stamps
Paper Type: Phosphor Tagged paper, Overall
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Processed at: Banknote Corporation of America, Browns Summit SC
Colors: PMS 7535 Gray, PMS 871 Gold, PMS 2726 Purple
Stamp Orientation: Horizontal
Image Area (w x h): 1.05 x 0.77 in.⁄26.67 x 19.56 mm
Overall Size (w x h): 1.19 x 0.91 in.⁄30.23 x 23.11 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): 5.635 x 5.425 in.⁄143.13 x 137.80 mm
Press Sheets Size (w x h): 22.54 x 10.85 in.⁄ 572.52 x 275.59 mm
Plate Size: 320 stamps per revolution
Plate Numbers: “B” followed by three (3) single digits
Marginal Markings:
Front: Plate numbers in four corners of pane
Back: © 2015 USPS • USPS logo • Plate position diagram • Barcode (556200) in upper right and lower left corners of pane • Promotional text

From the USPS:

FDOI: Information to come. (2nd Quarter)
Format: Pane of 20

Featuring a design that evokes centuries of tradition, this stamp commemorates the two most important festivals—or eids—in the Islamic calendar: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. The gold-colored calligraphy on this stamp was created by world-renowned calligrapher Mohamed Zakariya of Arlington, Virginia.

The script reads Eidukum mubarak, “May your Eid be bountiful (or blessed).” The calligraphy on previous Eid stamps issued by the U.S. Postal Service® has read Eid mubarak, “may the religious holiday be blessed,” with the “your” implied, but Zakariya added the word to this new stamp to give the text more body within a horizontal frame.

“The script is the same as on the previous stamps, but elongated and simplified,” says Zakariya, who explains that he used a script known in Arabic as thuluth and in Turkish as sulus, “the choice script for a complex composition due to its open proportions and sense of balance.”

To the right of the script, a stylized olive branch rendered in gold carries connotations of abundance, family, hospitality, and peace. The background color is a rich purple.

As he has with all previous Eid stamps, Zakariya employed traditional methods and instruments to create this design. He used homemade black ink, and his pens were crafted from seasoned reeds from the Near East and Japanese bamboo from Hawaii. The paper was specially prepared with a coating of starch and three coats of alum and egg-white varnish, then burnished with an agate stone and aged for more than a year. The black-and-white design was then colorized by computer.

Art Director: Ethel Kessler

[Eid al-Adha will be celebrated in September; previous Eid stamps have been around that time. But Eid al-Fitr will be celebrated on July 6th — just after the end of the second quarter. —LdeV]