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Canada Post is hosting a celebration in the mail and you’re invited

Jan. 29, 2009

Canada Post is hosting a celebration in the mail and you’re invited

OTTAWA - Swirls of ribbon and clusters of confetti burst from an envelope with Canada Post’s dynamic PERMANENT™ domestic rate Celebration stamp. No matter what the event, all festivities are worthy of a stamp and as of February 2, the celebration starts with the stamp!

Did you know that the origin of greeting cards can be traced back to the ancient Chinese, who exchanged messages of kindness to celebrate the New Year? As well, the early Egyptians conveyed their greetings on papyrus scrolls. Paper wishes of good cheer were popular in many parts of Europe by the early 1400s, and by the 1850s, greeting cards evolved into a more commercial, popular and affordable form of communication.

Designed by Debbie Adams, Creative Director at Adams+ Associates Design Consultants in Toronto, the new Celebration stamp visually depicts this year’s theme of “Celebration in the Mail”. After researching greeting card imagery, Adams thought “What would it feel like to have all these festive elements explode from an envelope?” Drawing inspiration from her question, she developed the image by digitally mixing colours and experimenting with celebration symbols.

The domestic rate Permanent stamp measures 36 mm x 28 mm (horizontal) with simulated perforations along the top and bottom only. The self-adhesive stamp, sold in booklets of six, were printed by Lowe-Martin using lithography in eight colours on Tullis Russell paper. They are general tagged on all sides. The Official First Day Cover will bear the cancel “LIVELY ON”. Additional information about Canadian stamps can be found in the News section of Canada Post's website, and photos of these new stamps are also available. Stamps and other products will be available at participating post offices, or can be ordered online by following the links at Canada Post's website www.canadapost.ca/collecting, or by mail order from the National Philatelic Centre. From Canada and the USA, call toll-free: 1 800 565-4362, and from other countries, call: 902 863-6550.