Honolulu — The Postal Service will commemorate Chinese New Year by welcoming a colorful lion dance troupe to its Main (Airport) Post Office at noon on Thursday, Feb. 19, the first day of the new Lunar New Year.

During its visit, the lion--from the Kuo Min Tang Physical Culture Association--will prowl and prance in the public areas just outside the post office and eventually pounce on an offering hung above the office’s lobby doors. The lion dance is believed to bring good luck and fortune to businesses hosting a performance.

The Main Post Office will also commemorate the occasion by featuring the recently issued 2015 Lunar New Year: Year of the Ram Forever stamp in its retail lobby and at its Express Shipping Shack. The first 100 customers at the Main Post Office lobby or adjacent Shipping Shack on Feb. 19 will receive a free lapel pin created from an actual Year of the Ram stamp.

The shipping shack will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Feb. 19 to accommodate Chinese New Year celebrants and customers in general seeking to purchase Forever stamps or ship three domestic items or less.

The Year of the Ram stamp is the eighth of 12 stamps in the Postal Service’s current Celebrating Lunar New Year series. Each of the stamps in this series includes a small image of an animal of the Chinese Zodiac designed by the late Hawaii graphic designer Clarence Lee. Lee designed the Postal Service’s previous Lunar New Year stamp series, which featured full-size renditions of his intricate paper-cut Chinese Zodiac animals and were issued between 1992 and 2005.

Customers at the Chinese New Year celebration at the Main Post Office will also be able to purchase a limited-edition commemorative envelope featuring Lee’s original Lunar New Year: Year of the Ram stamp, which was issued in 2003. Supplies of these collectors’ items are extremely limited.

The Postal Service introduced its current Celebrating Lunar New Year series in 2008. This series, designed by mainland artist Kam Mak, focuses on some of the common ways the Lunar New Year holiday is celebrated. For the Year of the Ram, the stamp depicts a wooden candy tray known as a chuen-hop or Tray of Togetherness. The tray is filled with dried fruits, candies, and other treats to provide a sweet beginning to the New Year.

Year of the Ram Forever stamps are currently available at Post Offices nationwide.

High-resolution images available: High-resolution images of the Lunar New Year: Year of the Ram Forever stamps are available upon request to duke.gonzales@usps.gov

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