Eid Greetings Stamps, Sheet of 20

With a design that evokes centuries of tradition, this Eid Greetings stamp, featuring gold calligraphy and an olive branch, commemorates the two most important festivals—or eids—in the Islamic calendar: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. On these days, Muslims wish each other Eidukum mubarak, the phrase shown in Islamic calligraphy on the stamp. Eidukum mubarak translates literally as "May your Eid be bountiful (or blessed)," a phrase that can be applied to both Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. The calligraphy on previous Eid stamps issued by the U.S. Postal Service has read Eid mubarak, "may the religious holiday be blessed," with the "your" implied, but this new stamp includes the word "your" to give the text more body within a horizontal frame. The stylized olive branch carries connotations of abundance, family, hospitality, and peace. The background color is purple. In 2022, Eid al-Fitr will be celebrated in North America beginning at sunset on May 2 and Eid al-Adha will be celebrated beginning at sunset on July 9. (These dates, which are based on geographical location and predicted sightings of the moon, are preliminary and may vary slightly as each festival approaches.) The U.S. Postal Service issued its first Eid stamp, with gold calligraphy against a blue background, on September 1 , 2001. A new Eid stamp with gold calligraphy against a reddish background debuted in 2011 and was reissued with a green background in 2013. All Eid stamps issued by the U.S. Postal Service to date feature the work of world-renowned calligrapher Mohamed Zakariya of Arlington, Virginia. The art director for this stamp was Ethel Kessler. Like other stamps in the Holiday Celebrations series, Eid Greetings is being issued as a Forever stamp. Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce price. Made in the USA