Download this report as an MP3 sound file.

Diversity

The Stamp Collecting Report, I'm Lloyd de Vries.

There’s a new U-S holiday stamp this year: Diwali. It’s a Hindu festival, and celebrates
in late October the triumph of good over evil. The inaugural design shows a diya oil lamp.

When the stamp was announced, some questioned why a predominantly Christian country would
issue a stamp for a Hindu festival. Christians in the U-S outnumber Hindus one hundred to
one.

But the United States is a multi-cultural country with no official religion. The
U-S Postal Service this year is also issuing stamps for Hanukkah, Eid, Kwanzaa, the Chinese
New Year, and, yes, Christmas.

Whether there will be a second Diwali stamp is more likely to depend on how well this one
sells. The Eid and Hanukkah stamps do fairly well, so every other year or so, there are
new designs. Chinese New Year is a best seller, and there’s a new design every. But stamps
for Thanksgiving and Cinco de Mayo did not do well, and were dropped.

In fact, the religious Madonna and Child stamps don’t sell that well, either… which is why
there’s a new design only every other year or so…. while we get new non-religious Christmas
stamps — such as Snoopy, Santa and Rudolph — every year.

I’m Lloyd de Vries of The Virtual Stamp Club. For more on stamps and stamp collecting,
visit virtual-stamp-club-dot-com.

----------------------------------------------------------
Go to Previous Report
Go to Next Report

Go to Report Index