Friday, November 25, 2016

Christmas 2016

New Issue alert:
The Philippine Postal Corporation will issue a set of 4 stamps in celebration of the yuletide season.
Kind of Issue : Special
Denomination & Quantity : P15 . . . 101,000
Date of Issue : November 25, 2016
Last Day of Sale : November 24, 2017
Size of Stamps : 4cm x 3cm
Sheet Composition : 16on ( Blk/ 4 stamps)
Perforation : 14
Printing Process : Litho Offset (4 colors)
Special Embellishment - Spot Lamination
Paper : Imported Unwatermarked
Printer : Amstar Company, Inc.
Designer : Aimee Cabingao
Design : Four (4) designs of ParĂ³l or Christmas Lanterns
[press release added later]

PRESS RELEASE: PHLPost releases Parol Stamps to celebrate Christmas

The star-shaped Christmas lantern known locally as "Parol" is now on postage stamps.

The Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) released special “Parol” stamps featuring one of the most iconic symbols of Filipino Christmas spirit and goodwill.

The “lantern stamps” features a special or spot lamination which is different from other regular issued postage stamps. The Christmas color of red, white, and green reflects the Filipino Christmas celebration which is colorful, lively and full of bright lights.

Traditionally, the Parol (lanterns) have a star-shaped framework made of bamboo sticks which are then covered by colored pieces of either Japanese or crepe paper. The most common form is a five-pointed star with two decorative “tails”. 

Parol is a representation of the star of Bethlehem that was used by the Biblical Magi as marker of the birth place of the baby Jesus.

The star-shaped lanterns are displayed hanging outside the house, along the busy streets and small villages. This kind of lantern was used by barrio folk to light their paths during the ritual yuletide dawn Masses called Misa de Gallo.

Recently, innovations from Pampanga include production of lanterns with electronic lights that can be programmed to produce a dancing effect, using LED rope lights, known as “flexilight” lanterns. 

PHLPost has printed 101,000 copies of the block of four stamps with different designs and denominations sold at P12 and P17, respectively. 

The stamps and official first day cover are now available at the Post Shop, Central Post Office, Door 203, Liwasang Bonifacio, Manila and area post offices nationwide. For inquiries, please call 527-01-08 or 527-01-32.

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