6th February: Waitangi Day

Waitangi Day

Every year on 6th February, New Zealand marks the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi as Waitangi Day.

Māori, the indigenous Polynesian people, arrived in Aotearoa New Zealand at least 800–1000 years ago. Pākehā, the European settlers arrived just 250 years ago. 

In the year 1840, to give equal power to both Pākehā and Māori, representatives of the British Crown and Māori signed what is often considered to be New Zealand’s founding document. 

In 1932 Governor-General Lord Bledisloe gifted the Treaty House and grounds at Waitangi to the nation. In February 1934 Bledisloe's gift was marked by celebrations. Many from the Māori attended the 1934 celebrations, this is marked as the first official Waitangi Day.

Prime Minister Norman Kirk declared that it would be a national holiday starting from 1974 and he renamed Waitangi day, as "New Zealand Day".  But the “New Zealand Day” was celebrated for just 2 years, and reverted back to the original name, Waitangi Day, which has stuck on till date.

Below is the Miniature sheet issued by NZ post on 5th February 1974 to commemorate "New Zealand Day".  

The top left stamp depicts Treaty House at Waitangi

The bottom left stamp shows the Signing the Treaty of Waitangi

In the middle, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who was the chief guest for the 1974 "New Zealand Day"

The top right is the Parliament Buildings and the Beehive

The bottom right is Pakeha and Maori Children Studying Together

May 4th : Star Wars Day

Star Wars Day

Are you a Star Wars fan?  Then you must be knowing the famous Jedi's catchphrase, “May the Force be with you” and a pun related to this dialogue "May the fourth(4th) be with you".  Thus, "Star Wars Day" was born.

Star war fans decided to celebrate May 4th, as a Star wars day unofficially to pay tribute to the movie and its maker George Lucas of Lucasfilm. First known, organized Star Wars Day events were held at the Toronto underground Cinema on this day in 2011.

In 2012, The Walt Disney Company purchased the Lucas film.  In 2013, they decided to celebrate Star Wars Day officially at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland.  Since then it has been celebrated throughout the world.

The interesting thing about this day is, The iron lady of the world, Margaret Thatcher took office as Prime minister of the UK on 4th May 1979.  Her conservative party members congratulated with the ad saying "May the Fourth(May, 4th) Be with you, Maggie".

Enjoy the day with the 3-D Star Wars stamps issued by Spain.

8th March: International Women's Day

International Women's Day is celebrated on 8th March every year. It is a global day celebrating the economic, political, and social achievements of women past, present, and future. In places like China, Russia, Vietnam, and Bulgaria, International Women's Day is a national holiday.

The first National Woman's Day was observed in the United States on 28th February. The Socialist Party of America designated this day in honor of the 1908 garment workers' strike in New York, where women protested against working conditions, shorter hours, better pay, and voting rights.

In 1910, at the second International Conference of Working Women held in Copenhagen, Zetkin, the revolutionist from Germany and the co-founder of the International Socialist Women's Congress,  proposed that Women’s Day be celebrated in every country on the same day,  and it was accepted by more than 100 ladies from 17 countries and was celebrated on 19th March on 1911 and 1912.  In 1913, in Europe, on or around the 8th March, women held rallies either to protest the war or to express solidarity with other activists.  In 1917 on March 8th, women in Russia chose to protest and strike for "Bread and Peace"  which lasts for 4 days.  After World War II many countries started celebrating 8th March as Women's Day.

Finally, in 1975,  the United Nations began celebrating 8th March as International Women's Day and declared the year,1975 as an International Women's Year.  Since then, International women's day celebrated on March 8th every year.

Seen above is the miniature sheet issued in India on the occasion of 2007 Women's Day Celebrations.

Below is a Phila numismatics cover issued by India Post to commemorate 2020, International Women's Day

World's first LED stamp

 World's First LED stamp

The world's first LED stamp was issued by Portuguese post on 22nd October 2019.  Thanks to Francisca Matos of Portugal for helping me with this awesome miniature sheet.

The LED diode has been attached to the image of the guiding star which illuminates when it comes to contact with an Android or IOS smartphone with NFC technology (near field communication).

To access this feature, follow these steps:

1- On an Android operating system, simply activate the NFC feature in the smartphone settings menu.

2. Move the backside of the smartphone close to the souvenir sheet.

3. Find the area where the NFC frequency is being emitted to illuminate the star’s light (the LED).

To see my interesting stamp collection, please click

here.

22nd September : World Rhino Day

 World Rhino Day

World Rhino Day is celebrated on September 22 and commemorates all five species of rhino found in Asia and Africa.

These brilliant beasts are known for their awesome, giant horns that grow from their snouts, hence they got their name from the Latin language, “Rhinoceros’, meaning “nose horn”. Javan and Indian rhinos have one horn, whereas the white, black, and Sumatran rhinos have two.

All five species are herbivores.  Rhinos are solitary animals and like to avoid each other. But some species, particularly the white rhino, may live in a group, known as a ‘crash’. Adult females are called 'cows', males are called ‘bulls'.  They’re very territorial, and mark out their area of land with poop! Yes,  each individual’s dung smells unique:-).

World Rhino Day was first announced by WWF-South Africa in 2010. The following year, World Rhino Day grew into an international success, thanks to the efforts of two determined women Lisa Jane and Rhishja.

The two ladies found they shared a common goal of making World Rhino Day a day of celebration for all five species of rhino.  They worked together to make World Rhino Day 2011 an international success, both online and offline. Ever since World Rhino Day has grown to become a global phenomenon.

⦁ Javan Rhinos: Critically Endangered (IUCN) - only 72 left

⦁ Sumatran rhinos: Critically Endangered (IUCN) - less than 80 left

⦁ Black rhinos: Critically Endangered (IUCN) - Between 5,366 and 5,627 left

⦁ White rhinos: Near Threatened (IUCN) - Between 17,212 and 18,915 left

⦁ Greater One-Horned Rhinos: Vulnerable (IUCN) - 3,588 left

I heard about one organization which is working towards saving Rhinos, 

https://www.savetherhino.org/get-involved/donate/

in case if you are interested in donating, please check the authentication.

The below stamps are issued by India Post in 2015

21st September : International Day of Peace

International Day of Peace

A United Nations resolution established the International Day of Peace (IDP) in 1981. The first Peace Day was celebrated in 1982 and was held on the third Tuesday of September each year till 2001.

The assembly decided to set a fixed day in 2001,  hence September 21 has become the permanent date for the IDP starting from 2002. By creating the International Day of Peace, the UN devoted itself to worldwide peace and encouraged people to work in cooperation for this goal.  The assembly declared that the day should be observed as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence day.

The symbol of 'International Peace Day' is the peace dove flying with an olive branch in its beak. In many religions, a white dove is generally a sign of peace. The dove can also represent “hope for peace” or a peace offering from one person to another, hence the phrase “to extend an olive branch”. Often, the dove is represented as 'still in-flight' to remind people of its role as messenger.

The below stamp is issued by India Post in 2005.

3rd Saturday, September: International Red Panda Day

 International Red Panda Day

The Red Panda Network launched International Red Panda Day in 2010. Since then, the third Saturday in September every year is celebrated as Red Panda Day.

They were discovered in 1825, 50 years before the giant panda.  Other names for the red panda include bear-cat, firefox, and the Himalayan raccoon (though they are not relatives).  Red pandas are the only living member of their taxonomic family.

Red pandas eat mostly bamboo, they eat about 20000 leaves each day.  They have gotten their name from the Nepali word "Ponya" which means bamboo or plant-eating animal.

Red pandas weigh between 12 to 20 pounds, which is about the size of a housecat. These adorable mammals are very skillful and acrobatic animals and they predominantly stay in the trees of the Himalaya Mountains. The Red panda’s popularity in Asia features them in cartoons and as team mascots. However, only about 10,000 red pandas live in the wild. Because of deforestation, poaching, and the illegal pet trade, red pandas are endangered.

We all can save them, by preserving their habitat and adopting them,  actually not literally, If we pay some money to the zoo or nature reserve, they will use that for their upkeeping, food, and other purposes.  I learned that RedPandaNetwork.org is one such network.

For our next family occasion, birthdays, etc. why don't we adopt one animal.

The below Red Panda stamp was issued by India post in 2009.