The celebration of good over evil with lights, will now be celebrated with postal stamps in US. The U.S. Postal Service will commemorate the joyous Hindu festival of Diwali with a Forever stamp. Forever stamps are immune to the future increase in price of stamps, as it is always equal to the current value of a stamp, no matter when it was bought.
The stamp will be issued on Oct 5, at the Consulate General of India, New York.
The stamp design is a photograph featuring a traditional diya oil lamp beautifully lit, sitting on a sparkling gold background.
Sally Andersen-Bruce of New Milford, CT, photographed the diya. Greg Breeding of Charlottesville, VA, designed the stamp and William J. Gicker of Washington, DC, service as the project’s art director.
The Diwali Forever stamp will be equal in value to the current First Class Mail 1-ounce price.
The stamp commemorating Diwali would make the 3.4 million-strong Indian American community in the US, joyful. Diwali is also celebrated in the White House every year. This year the festival will be celebrated on October 30.
According to the statement, the postal services department “receives approximately 40,000 suggestions for stamp ideas annually from the public”, and about 25 such suggestions are chosen by the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee for the Postmaster General’s approval.