New Year brings stamp of originality

This is what you call barking up the right tree.

To honor the Chinese Lunar New Year, Canada Post has issued a pair of stamps to mark the Year of the Dog.

"Canada Post is proud to once again mark the vibrant and festive occasion that is the Lunar New Year, celebrated by Canadians of Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and other East Asian heritage," said Canada Post president and CEO Deep-ak Chopra. "The annual unveiling of this stamp issue has become a much-anticipated event."

True to the traditional aspects of the celebration, the Year of the Dog stamps incorporate Chinese lanterns as a central design element, with red and gold dominating the color schemes.

The domestic-rate stamp features a small dog that appears ready to rush headlong into the year ahead, while the international-rate stamp depicts a larger, more dignified canine with one paw raised in anticipation.

The Dog is the 11th animal in the lunar cycle. For Canada Post, this is the 10th stamp in its current Lunar New Year series, which began with the Ox in 2009, according to Kim O'Reilly, director of Canada Post in Toronto, which hosted an unveiling ceremony of the stamps on Wednesday in Richmond Hill.

Designed by Vancouver-based Subplot Design, with illustrations by Meimei Mao and photography by Raeff Miles, the Year of the Dog stamps include four Chinese blessings, presented in calligraphy by Albert Ng, member of the Order of Ontario.

Gary Norris, a 67-year-old Canadian who joined a long line of collectors waiting for the official issues of the first-day stamps, said he has collected Canadian stamps since he was 12 years old and the Chinese zodiac stamps among his favorites.

"The lunar series have all been very well and uniquely designed. Like this Year of the Dog, the color, the brightness and the design are beautiful. The whole series has been very well done," Norris told China Daily.

"Today's ceremony is important because it not only offers blessings for the Chinese New Year, but also serves as witness to this historic moment as our two countries celebrate their first Year of Tourism," said He Wei, Chinese consul general in Toronto.

"Every zodiac stamp tells a Chinese story," he added. "The issue helps Canadians gain a better understanding of Chinese culture and thus strengthens our friendship."

He said that as a countdown to the Year of the Dog, nearly 20 Happy Chinese New Year programs are unfolding in the Greater Toronto Area.

The Year of the Dog begins on Feb 16 and runs to Feb 4, 2019. Loyal, trustworthy and courageous, the easygoing individuals born under the sign of the Dog are believed to willingly put others' well-being above their own.

Famous Canadians born under this sign include singers Justin Bieber and Leonard Cohen and novelist Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables.