WASHINGTON D.C., August 23, 2016 (Washington Post): It took petitions from everyone from schoolchildren to members of Congress, and 12 years of waiting. Soon, a long-hoped-for goal will be a stickum-backed reality of less than a square inch: a new postage stamp recognizing the holiday of Diwali. The stamp, announced by the U.S. Postal Service on Tuesday, will be the first stamp honoring the Hindu religion, joining U.S. postage that has marked Christian, Jewish and Muslim holidays in the past.
What’s the value of an old-fashioned stamp in a society that uses less and less snail mail? “Stamps are miniature pieces of art that reflect the American experience,” Mark Saunders at the U.S. Postal Service said. Members of the Hindu community and their supporters have asked for years to join the long list of themes that have inspired stamp art. Saunders said the first petition for a Diwali stamp was received in 2004. It’s hard for a petition to make the cut: the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee receives about 40,000 stamp suggestions every year and only recommends about 25 to the postmaster general, Saunders said.
The call for a Diwali stamp grew louder. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) introduced a resolution in Congress last year in favor of a Diwali stamp. Indian diplomats in the United States expressed support for it, and thousands of Americans wrote letters and signed petitions. In the end, it was the volume of those petitions, not the high-profile support, that swayed the committee, said William Gicker, director of stamp development. “This was the biggest push, the most people writing in,” he said. “From our standpoint, we are producing stamps for people to use for holidays … Looking at the numbers, we saw that Diwali is a holiday that people send cards and correspondence. So we were happy to support that.”
Photo of the new stamp at “source” above. At some point the stamp will be available for sale at https://store.usps.com/store/, but not as of this posting.