Slovakia FDC on "Michal Miloslav Hodža (1811 - 1870)"

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Slovakia

Michal Miloslav Hodža (1811 - 1870)

Date of Issue : 22 September 2011

Michal Miloslav Hodža was one of the leading personalities of Slovak cultural and political life in the 1830’s – 1860’s. He was born on 22nd September 1811 in the village of Rakša in central Slovakia.

During his studies in Bratislava in the 1830’s , he became close with Ľudovít Štúr as well as Joseph M. Hurban. Along with them, he brought about a new codification of the Slovak literary language in 1843. Hodža also participated in establishing Tatrín (1844), the first nationwide cultural association as well as in issuing the first Slovak political newspaper (1845). He was one of the leaders of the Slovak revolution in 1848 – 1849. After the revolution he worked as a notary for some time devoting himself to cultural, linguistic, theological and political activities. In 1867 after a conflict with the authorities he emigrated to Těšín in Silesia, where he died on 26th March 1870.

The main motif of the post stamp is Hodža’s portrait with a background in which there are books and pens, symbolizing his merit in codification of the Slovak literary language. FDC’s motif is a collage of the church where he worked and where, thanks to his initiative, a number of major national gatherings took place along with other items that symbolize his contribution to the development of the nation, its culture and the Slovak Lutheran Church. On the FDC Cancellation there is a facsimile of Hodža’s signature.

Latvia FDC on "Personalized Stamps 2011"

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Latvia

Personalized Stamps 2011

Date of Issue : 22 August 2011

Israel FDC on "Festivals 2011 - The Rosh Hashanah Feast"

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Israel

Festivals 2011 - The Rosh Hashanah Feast

Date of Issue : 13 September 2011

The Rosh Hashanah feast includes various types of food that serve as symbols of the New Year holiday.
The inclusion of foods with symbolic meaning in the Rosh Hashanah feast is an ancient tradition, the roots of which may be found in the writings of the Sages. The Babylonian Talmud (Tractate Kritot, page 6a) says, “Abaye said, ‘… at the beginning of every year a person should accustom himself to eat gourds, fenugreek, leeks, beets and dates’”. Along with these foods, the holiday table is also filled with foods whose natural characteristics serve as festive symbols of the good wishes for the New Year:

1.7 NIS : Apple and Honey
One takes a slice of sweet apple and dips it in honey, reciting: “May it be Your will… that we should have a good and sweet new year”.

4 NIS : Fish Head
One eats a piece of a fish head, saying: “May it be Your will… that we should be the head and not the tail”. It is customary to recite additional blessings based on the characteristics of fish, such as “we should multiply as fish” or “that You should watch over us with the open eye of a fish” (fish do not have eyelids so their eyes are always open).
Among some ethnic groups it is customary to eat a piece of a sheep or ram head, rather than that of a fish, reciting the blessing “and remember the ram of Isaac”, alluding to the ram that was sacrificed in lieu of Isaac.

5.9 NIS : Pomegranate
When eating pomegranate seeds one recites the blessing: “May it be Your will… that our merits should increase like (the seeds of) a pomegranate”. The Talmudic legend notes that each pomegranate fruit has 613 seeds, as the number of mitzvoth (commandments), equating the People of Israel, who are full of mitzvoth, to the pomegranate fruit.

Sri Lanka Postcard - Arugambay Surfing Point

Postcard
明信片
Bilhete Postal

Sri Lanka

Another very nice Sri Lanka postcard showing the view of Arugambay Surfing Point. Thank You very much to my friend !

Estonia FDC on "Heads of State of the Republic of Estonia - Friedrich Karl Akel"

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Estonia

Heads of State of the Republic of Estonia - Friedrich Karl Akel

Date of Issue : 5 September 2011

Friedrich Karl Akel (5 September 1871 in Halliste, Estonia – 3 July 1941 in Tallinn) was an Estonian diplomat and politician, a member of the International Olympic Committee., and Head of State of Estonia in 1924.

In October 1940, Akel was imprisoned by the NKVD (People's Ministry of Internal Affairs, the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union). He was shot to death in Tallinn on 3 July 1941. His wife, Adele Karoline Tenz, was deported in June 1941 and died in 1944.

China FDC on "Lord Guan"

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China


Lord Guan

Date of Issue : 12 September 2011

On the stamp set FDC :
(Left)
2-1 : Lord Guan Riding His Steed
(Right)
2-2 : Night Reading

Guan Yu (died in 219), courtesy name Yunchang, alias Changsheng, was born during the reign of Emperor Huandi of the Eastern Han in Xiexian County, Hedong (present-day Yuncheng, Shanxi Province). He was an eminent general during the Three Kingdoms Period, conferred the title of "Marquis of Hanshou". The classical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms fictionalized the fact that Cao Cao gifted Guan Yu a dwelling in Xuchang after capturing him, as well as two wives of Liu Bei, in Xuzhou. To avoid suspicion, Guan Yu divided the residence into two parts, leaving the internal one for the two ladies only. In the morning, he paid a respectful call to his sisters-in-law, and after night fell, he read Spring and Autumn Annals all through the nights by the light of a candle, which has become a story passed on with praise.

Guan was respectfully referred to by the public as "Lord Guan", and defined and worshipped as a god capable of driving away evils and bringing peace and prosperity. Temples of Guan Yu were constructed everywhere across the country. The earliest Guan Yu statue discovered so far is a clay figure unearthed from a Northern Song temple in Shashi, Hubei Province, which is now collected by Jingzhou Municipal Museum. The earliest protrait is a wood carved image discovered in Pingyang (present-day Linfen), Shanxi Province. Dating from the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234), it was originally housed in a Buddhist pagoda in Ejin Banner, Inner Mongolia, and is now collected by the State Hermitage Museum and Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia.

I very much like the design of this stamp issue.

Myanmar Postcard - Kaungh Mu Daw

Postcard
明信片
Bilhete Postal

Myanmar

A very nice Myanmar postcard showing the Kaungh Mu Daw, a famous dome-shaped Pagoda of Sagaing. Thank You very much to my friend !

Latvia FDC on "Latvian Ports - Freeport of Riga"

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Latvia

Latvian Ports - Freeport of Riga

Date of Issue : 2 September 2011

Israel ATM FDC on "Acasia Gazelle"

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Israel

Acasia Gazelle ATM

Date of Issue : 13 September 2011

A really very nice ATM FDC from Israel. Thank You very much to my friend !

Lesotho Postcard - Katse Dam

Postcard
明信片
Bilhete Postal

Lesotho

A really very nice postcard showing the Katse Dam. The stamps are also very beautiful. Thank You very much to my friend !

Mexico Postcard - Day of the Grandparents

Postcard
明信片
Bilhete Postal

Mexico

A very nice "Day of the Grandparents" card with matching stamps. Thank You very much to my friend !

Hong Kong FDC on "Centenary of The University of Hong Kong"

First Day Cover and Maximum Card
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Sobrescrito de 1.º Dia e Bilhete Máximo

Hong Kong

Centenary of The University of Hong Kong

Date of Issue : 15 September 2011

In 1911, The University of Hong Kong was incorporated by the University Ordinance. This year marks an important milestone in the University's history - its Centenary.

$1.40 - The Main Building in 1910 and the Golden Trowel.

$1.80 - The Main Building in 1912 together with the Fête and Bazaar poster.

$2.40 - The Union Building in 1919 with the Main Building in the background. The statue of Dr Sun Yat-sen is on the left.

$2.50 - The roofless Main Building in 1946 and the Mace.

$3 - The 1940s Main Building and the West Gate, together with the inkstand.

$5 - The Main Building and its courtyard as they are today, with the Full Coat of Arms on the right.

The $5 stamp on the stamp sheetlet (affixed on the top FDC) shows the Letters Patent from the College of Arms granting the Full Coat of Arms.

(From Hong Kong Post : http://www.hongkongpoststamps.com/eng/stamps/latest_stamp_issues/2011/20110901a/introduction.htm)

As a graduate of HKU, I very much like and await the release of this stamp issue. On 15 Sep, I have spent an entire day to buy and prepare the stamps, postcards and FDCs, and queuing for cancellation, at HKU Main Building, Sai Ying Poon Post Office and GPO. Sai Ying Poon Post Office (SYP, 西營盤郵政局) is the post office nearest to HKU. The FDC on top is sent from Sai Ying Poon Post Office.

China FDC on "Traditional Sports of Ethnic Minorities of China (II)"

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China


Traditional Sports of Ethnic Minorities of China (II)

Date of Issue : 10 September 2011

(Top FDC)
4-1 : Board Shoes Racing (Zhuang)
Board shoes racing, originating in Hechi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

4-2 : Single Bamboo Drifting (Miao)
Single bamboo drifting originated from the Chishui River area in Guizhou.

(2nd FDC)
4-3 : Spinning Top (Yi)
Spinning top has long enjoyed popularity among the ethnic groups
inhabiting China's southwestern regions. The game take place between offensive and defensive players. To start the game, the defensive player spins the top at the center of the arena, and the offensive throws a top to hit the rival's top from a designated spot. The offensive's score will be determined by whether the defensive's top is hit out of the ground or by the length of the spin after the hit.

4-4 : Stilt Racing (Tujia)
Stilt racing is a native ethnic sport of the Tujia people living in
Hunan and Hubei provinces.Holding the handles of the bamboo stilt, with their feet mounted on the pedals, the athletes are supposed to walk a given distance while competing in speed.

The 9th National Traditional Ethnic Minority Sports Meet, held in
Guizhou on 10 September 2011, features distinctive competitive events such as board shoes racing, single bamboo drifting, spinning top and stilt racing.

Monaco Postcard - Monte Carlo

Postcard
明信片
Bilhete Postal

Monaco

A very nice postcard showing the view of Monte Carlo. Great view ! I very much like the Monaco's Mother Teresa stamp. The cancellation is also nice. Thank You very much to my friend !

Latvia FDC on "125th Anniversary of Bicycling in Latvia"

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Latvia

125th Anniversary of Bicycling in Latvia

Date of Issue : 25 August 2011

A very nice FDC from Latvia. Thank You so much to my friend !

Indonesia FDC on " Indonesia - Malaysia Joint Issue"

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Indonesia


Indonesia - Malaysia Joint Issue

Date of Issue : 8 August 2011

(Upper FDC)
Indonesia :
Bekisar chicken
— a shiny-plumed crossbreed that is the provincial mascot for East Java and is the most expensive fowl in the country.

Proclamation Monument

Surakarta Military postage stamp
— the first post-independence and most expensive stamp in the country

ORI Banknote
— the country’s first currency.

(Lower FDC)
Malaysia
Malaysian Green Chicken

National Monument of Malaysia

Malaya First Stamp of 1959 after Merdeka Independence

Malaysian First Currency

Slovakia FDC on "Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava 2011"

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Slovakia

Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava 2011

Date of Issue : 2 September 2011

Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava (BIB) was first held in 1967. It presenting the original works of books for children and youth in a competitive way. The BIB International Jury awards 11 prizes – Grand Prix BIB, five BIB Golden Apples and five BIB Plaques. Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava is the most important event organized by BIBIANA, the International House of Art for Children. It is held every odd year in the autumn in Bratislava. The latest event in 2009, the 22nd year of BIB was attended by 344 authors from 37 countries with nearly 2500 illustrations.

The post stamp is a reproduced illustration from the book Tracy’s Tiger by a talented young Slovak artist Martina Matlovičová-Králová (24th Dec 1975), which won the previous Biennial BIB Golden Apple.

Nice FDC from Slovakia. There is also a 2009 BIB stamp at the middle of the FDC, and the special cancellation of the inauguration of the stamp. Thank You so much to my friend !

Estonia FDC on "St Margaret’s of Karuse"

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Estonia

St Margaret’s of Karuse

Date of Issue : 25 August 2011

St Margaret's of Karuse was built in the third quarter of the 13th century as a fortified church next to a trade route passing from Saaremaa to North Estonia. Master of the Order Otto von Luttenberg, who fell in a battle against the Lithuanians on the Suur väin (Moon Sund) ice near Karuse in 1270, is believed to have been the builder of the church and is probably buried in it. St Margaret's of Karuse is a nave-only church with Romance and early Gothic influences. Its oldest part is the choir, which is narrower and lower than the rest of the building. The interior features a Baroque pulpit by the famous German woodcarver, Christian Ackermann (1697), a 16th century chandelier and a late 18th century altar. The altarpiece is an 1888 copy of an Albert Dürer's motif by B. Baggern. There are some 13th century grave slabs and stone crosses in the churchyard. In 1642 Fr. W. Hasselblatt, then Karuse minister, opened the first lending library of books in Estonian there.

Hong Kong Postage Due Cover

Postage Due Cover
欠資封
Sobrescrito com Selos de Porteado

Hong Kong

Date Sent: 25 August 2011

Postage Stamp
~~~ Hong Kong 2006 Bird Definitive Stamp HK$0.1 Stamp (Issued on 31 December 2006)

Hong Kong Postage Due Label (Left)
~~~ Issued on 23 September 2004

On the cover, I just affixed a Hong Kong $0.1 stamp out of the normal postage of HK$1.4. The postage due is : ($1.4 - $0.1) x 2 = HK$2.6