U.S. Postal Service holds ceremony for Chinese Lunar Year of the Rabbit Stamp release

On Jan. 12, the United States Postal Service held a commemorative stamp issuance ceremony for the Chinese Lunar Year of the Rabbit at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year. Chinese Consul General in San Francisco Zhang Jianmin, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, and others were present to witness.

The Year of the Rabbit zodiac commemorative stamp is one of three rounds of Lunar Zodiac stamps that have been issued in the United States. Camille Zhou, a Chinese-American illustrator, designed the Year of the Rabbit stamp.

(Photo/United States Postal Service)

On the stamp, a green crown sits between the little Rabbit’s two towering ears, and four purple tassels hang from green flowers on both sides of its forehead, which is consistent with the tassels on the stamps of the previous three years. The geometric figures from the forehead to the bridge of the nose include moons and stars, which can quickly remind people who are familiar with Chinese culture of the Moon Palace, a folklore which features a jade rabbit.

The U.S. Postal Service has praised its "contemporary interpretation of this auspicious time of year using the long-traditional folk craft of paper-cutting."

The red text below the U.S. Year of the Rabbit stamp reads "Lunar New Year," the gold text reads "Forever USA," and the year "2023" is marked on the upper right corner of the stamp.

USPS has designed a digital color first-day postmark option for this set of stamps and a free black and white first-day postmark within 50 stamps.

" It has been 30 years since the first round of Chinese Zodiac commemorative stamps was issued in 1993. This is one of the most popular commemorative stamps in U.S. history," said Derek Kan, a member of the USPS Board of Governors. "As we use this stamp in the weeks ahead, let us reflect on the American journey and the millions of Asian Americans who have helped walk it."

Xu Jie, director of the Asian Art Museum, said that the rabbit zodiac symbolizes peace, beauty, kindness, wisdom, and auspiciousness. The Asian Art Museum will continue to work to promote Chinese and Asian cultures in artistic, beautiful, and joyful ways, sharing broad, rich, and more inclusive stories.

Other participants at the ceremony were Fiona Ma, state treasurer of California, who served as the master of ceremonies; Claudine Cheng, president of the APA Heritage Foundation; Donald Lu, president of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce; and Linda Ng, national president of OCA — Asian Pacific American Advocates.