WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service has provided a preview of its new stamp designs for 2016, which include a stamp commemorating the Islamic holidays Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.
While Islamic holiday stamps are not new, being first released in 2001, the design for the 2016 stamp is among those revamped for the new year.
“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 Postal Service outlines in a news release outlining all of its new stamps.
The purple stamp features gold calligraphy done by Mohamed Zakaria of Arlington, Virginia, and reads, “Eidukum mumbarak, pr “May your Eid be bountiful.”
Eid al-Fitr is a an Islamic holiday marking the end of Ramadan where Muslims give food donations to the poor and attend prayer services, where they recite various takbir, such as “Allah is great. There is no god but Allah.”
“On this day Muslims show their real joy for the health, strength and the opportunities of life, which Allah has given to them to fulfill their obligation of fasting and other good deeds during the blessed month of Ramadan,” the site IslamicCity outlines.
Ed al-Adha celebrates Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael, and marks the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. (Muslims believe Abraham was asked to sacrifice Ishmael, while Christians and Jews believe it was Isaac who was placed on the altar, according to the Scriptures.)
“Eid al-Adha follows from the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, in which Muslims are required to make at least once in their lives,” the site TimeandDate outlines. “Eid al-Adha is also known as the Feast of Sacrifice because it traditionally includes the sacrifice of an animal permitted for food (e.g. a lamb) as an act of thanksgiving … Some Muslims seek out a farm where they can carry out the sacrifice, but many also send money to their native lands to help fund a sacrifice.”
Other stamps released for 2016 celebrate Kwanzaa, the Chinese Year of the Monkey and the 1766 repeal of the Stamp Act. A black heritage stamp also features historic preacher Richard Allen, marking the 200th anniversary of Allen’s founding of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church.
General stamps include botanical art, pets, planets, soda fountain art and antique pickup trucks, in addition to the regular flag stamp.
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