JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The U.S. Postal Service released its ninth Hanukkah stamp, featuring a colorful digital illustration of a dreidel to honor the eight-day Jewish holiday.
A dedication ceremony for the new stamp was held at the Touro Synagogue.
The stamp is being issued in panes of 20 as a Forever stamp. It will remain equal in value to the standard First-Class Mail 1-ounce price.
Millions of people across the United States and around the world observe Hanukkah to commemorate the story of religious freedom and the miracle of light.
Antonio Alcalá designed the stamp, featuring original artwork created by illustrator Lisa Perrin. The design depicts a dark blue dreidel with rust-colored Hebrew letters set against a turquoise background, framed by decorative foliage and flowers in light and dark orange, cream and shades of blue.
Postal Service Deputy General Counsel Carrie Rieger Brownlie spoke at the ceremony to commemorate the stamp’s release. “The Postal Service takes immense pride in issuing stamps that celebrate the rich cultural traditions and shared history of the American people,” Brownlie said. “With this new Hanukkah stamp, we are honored to highlight a story of resilience, hope and religious freedom that continues to inspire millions around the globe.”
Joining Brownlie at the ceremony were David Hammer, journalist and master of ceremonies; Dodd Loomis, executive director of the New Orleans Film Society; and Touro Synagogue leaders Kevin Wilkins, congregational president, Adrien Genet, historian, and Rabbi Katie Bauman Sr.
The origins of Hanukkah trace back to around 167 B.C. when Antiochus IV Epiphanes, ruler of the Seleucid Empire, attempted to force Jews to convert to Greek polytheism and desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem. A small army of Jewish warriors known as the Maccabees revolted and won against long odds. During the rededication of the Temple, sacramental oil meant to last for one day miraculously burned for eight days until fresh oil was pressed.
Today, the Festival of Lights is commemorated by lighting a nine-branched candelabra called a hanukkiah, singing holiday songs, and eating traditional fried foods like latkes and sufganiyot.
Observances also include playing with a dreidel, a spinning top named from a Yiddish word meaning “to turn.” Its four sides display the Hebrew letters nun, gimel, heh, and shin, representing the phrase “Nes gadol haya sham,” which translates to “A great miracle happened there.” Dreidels produced in Israel feature the letter peh instead of shin to reflect the word “poe,” meaning “here.”
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