The Postal Service will issue a new Hanukkah Forever stamp on Oct. 20.
Hanukkah is a Jewish celebration that can fall anywhere from late November to late December in the modern calendar. In 2022, it begins at sundown on Dec. 18 and ends on Dec. 26.
The eight-day observance is a commemoration of events that occurred in the second century B.C., when Jewish rebels reclaimed the Second Temple of Jerusalem after Syrian soldiers seized it and turned it into an altar to Zeus.
To cleanse and rededicate the temple, Jewish worshipers needed pure olive oil to light the temple menorah, but could only find a small amount that had not been defiled. That small amount was said to have miraculously lasted eight days.
The stamp’s vibrant image is based on a wall hanging by artist Jeanette Kuvin Oren, who also designed the stamp. Ethel Kessler served as art director.
The fiber art was hand-dyed and quilted to create the abstract image of a Hanukkiah — the nine-stem candelabra used during the holiday — in a palette of purples, yellows, rusts and blues.
The Hanukkah stamp is being issued in panes of 20 and can be purchased at Post Offices and usps.com.
