Year of the Ram Lunar New Year Full Sheet of 20 x 37 Cent Postage Stamps USA 2003 Scott 3747

The U.S. Postal Service celebrated the Year of the Ram with the issuance of a 37-cent stamp on January 15, 2003, in Chicago, IL. Artist, Clarence Lee, of Honolulu, HI, created a distinctively modern and Chinese design with a paper-cut two dimensional look. A professional calligrapher, Lau Bun, wrote Kanji characters to state the name of each stamp on the left side. Kanji is a Japanese adaptation to Chinese characters and can be read by a variety of Asian groups from differing countries and cultures. The ram is the 8th of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac associated with the Lunar calendar. People of Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tibetan, and Mongolian heritage celebrate the Lunar New Year. Charm, creativity, and a caring and gentle personality are hallmarks of the ram.