Kwanzaa Stamps

Kwanzaa Stamps

Forever 66¢

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Issue Date: 10/13/2020

With this new stamp design, the U.S. Postal Service continues its tradition of celebrating Kwanzaa. The annual Pan-African holiday, which takes place over seven days from December 26 to January 1, brings family, community, and culture together for many African Americans.

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  • With this new stamp design, the U.S. Postal Service continues its tradition of celebrating Kwanzaa. The annual Pan-African holiday, which takes place over seven days from December 26 to January 1, brings family, community, and culture together for many African Americans.

    The eighth Kwanzaa stamp design depicts the profile of a woman’s face with her eyes closed. Her contemplative demeanor signifies the ways in which observers of Kwanzaa reflect on the seven founding principles, the Nguzo Saba, and their role in everyday life. A kinara (candleholder) with the seven lit candles (mishumaa saba) sits in front of her. Cool tones evoke a sense of inner peace and vibrant design elements give the artwork a celebratory feel.

    Created in 1966 during the height of the Black Freedom Movement, Kwanzaa was conceived as a unifying holiday in the face of struggles to end racial oppression in the United States. It draws on a variety of African traditions, deriving its name from the Swahili phrase “matunda ya kwanza,” meaning “first fruits.” With origins in ancient and modern first-harvest festivities occurring across the African continent, Kwanzaa incorporates and reimagines many of these communal traditions as a contemporary celebration and reaffirmation of African-American culture.

    Today, millions of African Americans gather with friends and family throughout the week of Kwanzaa to honor the Nguzo Saba—Unity (Umoja), Self-Determination (Kujichagulia), Collective Work and Responsibility (Ujima), Cooperative Economics (Ujamaa), Purpose (Nia), Creativity (Kuumba), and Faith (Imani).

    Kwanzaa is a festive time for rejoicing in the prospect of health, prosperity, and good luck in the coming year. It is also a time for contemplation and recollection of past hardships, faced by both individuals and communities, and the ways in which history can inform and impact future happiness.

    Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamp with original artwork by Andrea Pippins.

    The Kwanzaa 2020 stamps are being issued as Forever® stamps. These Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce price.

    Made in the USA.

    SKUs featured on this page: 574904

  • Issue:Kwanzaa Stamp
    Item Number:574900
    Denomination &First-Class Mail Forever
    Type of Issue:
    Format:Pane of 20 (1 design)
    Series:N/A
    Issue Date & City:October 13, 2020, Nashville, TN 37202
    Art Director:Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria, VA
    Designer:Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria, VA
    Artist:Andrea Pippins, Bowie, MD
    Modeler:Sandra Lane/Michelle Finn
    Manufacturing Process:Offset, Microprint
    Printer:Banknote Corporation of America
    Press Type:Alprinta 74
    Stamps per Pane:20
    Print Quantity:15,000,000 stamps
    Paper Type:Phosphor Tagged Paper, Block Tagged
    Adhesive Type:Pressure-sensitive
    Processed at:Banknote Corporation of America
    Colors:Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
    Stamp Orientation:Vertical
    Image Area (w x h):0.77 x 1.05 in/19.558 x 26.67 mm
    Overall Size (w x h):0.91 x 1.19 in/23.114 x 30.226 mm
    Full Pane Size (w x h):5.55 x 5.76 in/140.97 x 146.304 mm
    Plate Size:160 stamps per revolution
    Plate Number:“B” followed by four (4) single digits
    Marginal Markings:
    Front:Plate number in four corners
    Back:©2020 USPS • USPS logo • Two barcodes (574900) • Plate position diagram (8) • Promotional text

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